FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have worried that a COVID-19 infection could make the symptoms of their nerve disease even worse.
But a new study should offer some comfort: COVID does not appear to make MS worse, researchers reported in the Dec. 23, 2024, issue of the journal Neurology.
“Infections may be associated with increased disability among people with MS,” researcher Amber Salter, associate professor of biostatistics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said in an American Academy of Neurology news release. in Dallas, Texas. “However, our study found that for COVID-19 infections specifically, this was not true.”
“This is good news for people with MS, who do not have to worry about long-term worsening of their MS symptoms after a COVID-19 infection,” Salter added.
Previous studies indicated that COVID infection could worsen MS symptoms, especially if the symptoms match those associated with long COVID.
In this new study, researchers followed more than 2,100 MS patients for more than 18 months. About 37 percent of the patients had been infected with COVID.
Patients reported the severity of their MS symptoms at least six times during the study. These symptoms may include muscle weakness, vision changes, and numbness.
Patients were also asked about other symptoms such as ability to walk, hand function, body pain, fatigue, and problems with memory and thinking.
The results showed no significant differences in MS symptoms between people who had been infected with COVID and those who had not.
COVID infection also did not cause increased disability among MS patients, the researchers noted.
“Our study indicates that COVID-19 infection was not associated with immediate changes in symptom severity or disability, nor did it change MS symptoms or disability trajectory for more than a year and a half after infection.” infection,” Salter said.
However, the researchers noted that this study focused on older MS patients with an average age of 65 years.
“Although our study primarily looked at older people and the results may not be the same for younger people, these findings help us better understand how this type of infection can affect people with MS,” Salter concluded.
More information
The Cleveland Clinic has more information about multiple sclerosis.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, press release, December 23, 2024
