DEVIS'S SYNDROME

HGIRL318 · Newbie Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 1

ANYONE OUT THERE HEARD OF DEVIC'S SYNDROME? ITS SIMILAR TO MS.

Danny · Supporter Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 346

Yes, I heard of it because I was studying a little bit about this disease, so I am aware of the general info about this autoimmune disease. It is actually a form of MS in which both spinal cord and optic nerves in the eyes get affected.
Devic's Syndrome develops fast and could be pretty severe. The nerves from the spinal cord are exposed because their sheath is lost. This may lead to varying degrees of weakness or paralysis in the legs or arms, loss of sensation, and/or bladder and bowel dysfunction from spinal cord damage. When optic nerves are affected eye pain and vision impairment occur. There are two forms of the disease. In the first type, spinal cord and optic nerve injuries tend to come very close together within days or weeks, and there is no recurrence after the first symptoms outbreak. In the second form, repeated episodes of optic nerve inflammation and inflammation of the spinal cord occur but are separated by months or years.
At early stages, it is hard to tell the difference between the Devic's disease and MS. However, once the diagnoses have been established, this could be possible.
Devic's disease attacks are more frequent and severe than they are in MS. What could be fatal in DD is the damage done to the spinal cord that could impair patient’s ability to breathe on its own.
There is no cure for the disease and the treatment is usually concentrated on the symptoms. Treatment may include: corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and intravenous methylprednisolone.

gayle23 · Newbie Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 4

hi there i am gayle and i have devic's, i run a worldwide support website with forums and lots of info please go take a look at:
devic.org.uk
love gayle Smile

DEVIS'S SYNDROME

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