Types of MS
What are the types of multiple sclerosis?
There are different clinical manifestations of multiple sclerosis. During an attack, a patient experiences a sudden deterioration in normal physical abilities that may range from mild to severe. This attack, sometimes referred to as an exacerbation of multiple sclerosis, typically lasts more than 24 hours and generally more than a few weeks (rarely more than four weeks).
About 65-80% of patients begin with Relapsing-Remitting (RR) MS, the most common type. In this type, patients experience a series of attacks followed by complete or partial disappearance of the symptoms (remission) until another attack occurs (relapse). It may be weeks to decades between relapses.
In Primary-Progressive (PP) MS, there is a continuous, gradual decline in a patient’s physical abilities from the outset rather than relapses. About 10%-20% of patients begin with PP-MS.
Patients beginning with RR-MS can then enter a phase where relapses are rare but more disability accumulates, and are said to have the Secondary-Progressive (SP) type of multiple sclerosis. About 50% of RR-MS patients will develop SP-MS within 10 years. Progressive-Relapsing (PR) MS is a type of multiple sclerosis characterized by a steady decline in abilities accompanied by sporadic attacks. There are cases of of multiple sclerosis that are mild and can be recognized only retrospectively after many years and also rare cases of extremely rapid progression of multiple sclerosis symptoms (sometimes fatal) known as malignant or fulminant (Marburg variant) multiple sclerosis.