Multiple sclerosis

Types of multiple sclerosis

There are four main types of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Source:
Hauser SL, Goodkin DE.
Multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases.
In: Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, et al (editors). Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 15th edition. McGraw Hill, New York, USA; 2001.

About 85 percent of people with MS have a type called relapsing-remitting MS when they are first diagnosed.
Almost everyone with the relapsing-remitting type goes on to have secondary progressive MS after 25 years.
About 10 percent of people with MS have primary progressive MS.
A type of MS called progressive relapsing MS is very rare.

Relapsing-remitting MS

If you have this type, you get bouts of symptoms called relapses or flare-ups. These last for at least 24 hours, but they usually last for a few weeks.

In the early stages of MS, your symptoms may clear up completely after a bout. This is called a

remission
Remission is when the symptoms of an illness get better, or go away completely, for a period of time.

remission. You may stay in remission for months or even years. Relapsing-remitting MS is the most common type of MS when it's first diagnosed. But this type can turn into the secondary progressive type over time. The inflammation causes permanent damage to your nerves.

Source:
Kutzelnigg A, Lucchinetti CF, Stadelmann C, et al.
Cortical demyelination and diffuse white matter injury in multiple sclerosis.
Brain. 2005; 128: 2705–2712.

Source:
Bjartmar C, Wujek JR, Trapp BD.
Axonal loss in the pathology of MS: consequences for understanding the progressive phase of the disease.
Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2003; 206: 165-171.

Secondary progressive MS

About half of people with relapsing-remitting MS get secondary progressive MS 10 years to 15 years after getting their first symptoms.

¹ In this type, some of your symptoms stay after a relapse and get worse over time.

Primary progressive MS

If you have this type of MS, your symptoms never really go away from the start. You don't have any remissions. Instead your symptoms slowly get worse. But they may vary over time.

Source:
Thompson AJ, Polman CH, Miller DH, et al.
Primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
Brain. 1997; 120: 1085-1096.

⁴

Progressive relapsing MS

This type of MS is rare. Your symptoms steadily get worse from the start. On top of that, you also get relapses, when your symptoms suddenly get much worse. You may or may not recover from these relapses.

Sources for the information on this page:

Hauser SL, Goodkin DE.Multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases.In: Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, et al (editors). Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 15th edition. McGraw Hill, New York, USA; 2001.

Kutzelnigg A, Lucchinetti CF, Stadelmann C, et al.Cortical demyelination and diffuse white matter injury in multiple sclerosis.Brain. 2005; 128: 2705–2712.

Bjartmar C, Wujek JR, Trapp BD.Axonal loss in the pathology of MS: consequences for understanding the progressive phase of the disease.Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2003; 206: 165-171.

Thompson AJ, Polman CH, Miller DH, et al.Primary progressive multiple sclerosis.Brain. 1997; 120: 1085-1096.

This information was last updated on Jul 25, 2008

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