What happens before MS? Looking at infection patterns in the years before diagnosis
Emily Tregaskis-Daniels is a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London. In this blog, which was shortlisted in our recent writing competition, Emily tells us about her work understanding the link between MS and infections.
I’m Emily - a first-year PhD student at Queen Mary University of London. I'm really interested in how infections might be linked to MS. I also want to help make healthcare fairer, so that everyone can get the care they need, no matter who they are or where they live.
Before your diagnosis of MS, did you notice changes in your health even years before?
People with MS often experience a range of symptoms before they are diagnosed. Some people report getting sick more often, feeling more fatigued or noticing sensory changes. This period, where someone experiences symptoms before they are diagnosed, is known as the ‘MS prodrome’. MS is different for each person, with people experiencing different symptoms at different times. Some people with MS have reported experiencing changes in their health before receiving their MS diagnosis, which affected their daily life and wellbeing.
So how much do we know about the MS prodrome?
Research suggests this ‘MS prodrome’ can start up to 10 years before someone is diagnosed with MS. It will be different for each person with MS, which can make it hard to spot. Symptoms are often non-specific, which also makes it difficult to identify people who may be in this prodrome. Infections are thought to be one of these symptoms. For example, someone may experience more Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) leading up to a diagnosis.
What is my research about?
For many people their GP is the first person they turn to when they are unwell. This means that information from GP records could give us more of an idea about how the MS prodrome may look. To do this, we will:
- Look at GP data to spot any patterns of infections before an MS diagnosis. For example, do people experience recurring UTIs?
- Look at the different types of infections that people experience. For example, infections of the lungs or airways.
- Look at the severity of infections in people who later develop MS.
What are we hoping to achieve?
We hope this research can help us to better understand what happens in the years before someone is diagnosed with MS and what infections we may see before a diagnosis. Understanding these early infections could help us spot people who may be at a slightly higher risk for developing MS in the future. This research could help healthcare professionals, including GPs, by providing tools or guidance to spot early signs of MS more easily and direct patients to the right care and support sooner.
How does this help people living with MS?
If we can spot people who might be at a higher risk of getting MS, we can help get them the right care sooner. This could mean getting diagnosed earlier, which can give people answers about their symptoms. An earlier diagnosis also means treatment and support can begin sooner – helping people at the start and throughout their MS journey.
Learning more about how infections are linked to MS can help us understand MS better. The more we learn and understand, the more we can do to improve the lives of those living with MS.
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