Multiple sclerosis can have far-reaching effects, impacting patients’ mobility, coordination, vision and cognition. According to new research led by an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist, many MS patients add another item on that list: productivity at work and home.
In a study of 682 MS patients, 35% reported that MS negatively impacted their work output. Patients most frequently identified fatigue, a common symptom of MS, as responsible for a reduction in productivity.
Of the surveyed participants, a third of the group also reported neglecting household chores due to fatigue and other symptoms.
“Symptoms like fatigue and brain fog can have a major impact both at work and in being productive at home,” said Yang Mao-Draayer, M.D., Ph.D., the lead researcher on the project.
In MS, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, a protective layer covering nerve fibers. The damage disrupts nerve signals, leading to a range of problems that include muscle weakness, balance and vision impairment, cognitive difficulties, and fatigue.
While people with higher disease severity were more likely to report these problems in the new study, participants in early stages of MS also reported limitations.
“MS is frequently unrecognized during early stages, as symptoms can be subtle at the outset,” Mao-Draayer said.
That was true for Liz Hartley, a social studies teacher at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School. When she first began experiencing MS symptoms such as speech and balance difficulties and weight loss, “I tried to hide them from my family,” Hartley said.
But her symptoms eventually grew severe enough that they required a four-month hospital stay – and an accompanying leave of absence from her job. For Hartley, the loss of not only her well-being but also her professional calling was devastating.
“My work is everything to me. Without it, I’d be lost,” she said.
Happily, treatment at OMRF’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence helped Hartley manage her MS symptoms, and she’s been able to return to work. Still, the disease continues to impact her life.
She schedules most of her classes in the morning, so she can teach before the worst of the fatigue sets in. She carries a magnifying glass and can’t read the faint writing of a pencil, so she requires students to use pens.
Hartley says that if she stays up late grading papers, “I wake up completely exhausted. It’s like my body reminding me, ‘You can’t do that anymore.’”
For Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., OMRF’s executive vice president and chief medical officer, the new study underscores the importance of continuing to find new and better treatment outcomes for people living with MS.
“This work highlights an often-overlooked benefit of research,” said James. “Improving early diagnosis and treatment leads to longer and healthier lives. It also leads to more productive and fulfilling professional lives.”
The new research appears in the journal NeuroSci and was funded by the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.
