MS Strength

The United Stated Department of Labor protects employed individuals who need to take a medical leave of absence for themselves or for immediate family members. This protection is referred to as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA.) It is designed to grant workers an unpaid leave from their jobs for up to 12 weeks per year, and stipulates that a person can return to his or her original position or one similar/ with similar salary. For workers with multiple sclerosis, this can be good and bad news. Here’s why:

• The FMLA can keep a worker in the workforce, but he or she must have been working for at least 12 months with an employer prior to asking for a leave of absence. This is great for people who have been with the same company or organization for a year or more, but it does not protect individuals (especially MSers) who might be returning to the workforce in a new job after being home-bound. Those trying to test the waters might find themselves up a creek when they do not have 12 months of work invested and then they suffer a long relapse.

• The FMLA covers workers who are employed at a company or organization with 50+ employees. This works out well for employees of larger companies, but those who might work for small establishments are not protected. Many times people with MS hold part-time jobs with such places.

• The FMLA cannot guarantee the reinstatement of a high-level, high-salaried (key) employee. It will cover the leave, but the decision of whether to reinstate is determined by the employer. This is trouble for any executives (especially males, who tend to be in higher-level positions) who might fall ill with multiple sclerosis. Later MS onset also correlates with a higher likelihhod of disability, such as with primary progressive MS. Unfortunately, employees who tend to be key players usually fall in this over-40 age range.

• Probably the trickiest clause in the Family Medical Leave Act is the requirement of an employee to have put in a minimum of 1,250 hours in the year prior to the request for leave. This breaks down to roughly a 24 hour work week. Here lies a big problem. Many people with MS cannot physically handle a 40 hour work week, but maybe they can manage part-time, lower-stress employment. But can everyone work 24+ hours a week, and then manage to make it to the one year minimum requirement? This clause makes it so difficult for people with multiple sclerosis to get back on their feet and try to sustain a new, part-time job. It becomes very frustrating to keep trying to stay employed outside of the home, only to be a person who falls through the cracks in the FMLA’s base.

• The last problem is the fact that people with multiple sclerosis who suffer regular, long attacks might need to use the FMLA on a yearly basis. But they will be shorting themselves a minumum of 288 hours (the prior year’s 12-week hiatus) for the next work year period, thus making them need to increase their weekly minimum hours to almost 30, just to qualify for the FMLA again. Most people who use the FMLA use it once and don’t always use the entire 12 weeks. People with multiple sclerosis who are able to work outside of the home often need the entire 12 weeks on a yearly basis. But with all of its exceptions and restrictions, do many MSers even have a shot at sustaining this yearly Act? An inquiring mind would like to know..

*For more information about the Family Medical Leave Act, visit the US Department of Labor’s website.

Multiple sclerosis is a mysterious, unpredictable disease that even has doctors puzzled. It is thought to be autoimmune in nature (the body’s own immune system, for whatever reason, attacks its own tissue.) MS is also a neurological disease, because the nerves of the central nervous system (within the brain and the spinal cord) are the targets of the attacks. The myelin, or protective nerve covering, is what is damaged during an MS attack, causing scarring or lesions on the nerves. The name “multiple sclerosis” is derived from the various scarrings that are found on an MS patient’s MRIs. Because of these nerve scarrings, nerve functions can be impaired or completely lost.

MS Statistics

Doctors are currently trying to make connections to different reasons why some people develop this neurological illness and are considering genetic, environmental, or even possible viral links as contributing factors. Currently, researchers can trace patterns of increased cases of MS to individuals who live in cooler, more temperate climates, and have noticed that the closer a person lives to the equator, the less likely they will be to contract the disease. Although there is no conclusive genetic link, siblings and particularly identical twins have the greatest chance of developing multiple sclerosis if another sibling already has the disease. Doctors are also investigating the possibility of people contracting MS if they suffered from a certain viral infection at a younger age. Finally, there appears to be a gender preference as women are more likely than men to develop multiple sclerosis; however, the disease has been known to affect men more severely.

MS Symptoms

Patients develop symptoms due to multiple sclerosis attacks. These can also be considered areas of impairment, since they signify nerve damage. MS symptoms can include:

• tingling/numbness in the limbs, torso, and/or face
• pain
• burning sensations
• weakness
• fatigue
• tightening sensations (especially in the torso or legs)
• bladder and bowel weakness
• visual problems
• tremors
• muscle spasms
• vertigo
• unsteady gait or trouble walking
• swallowing/speech issues
• cognitive problems
• seizures

Symptoms/impairments depend on the areas of nerve damage, and the symptoms can fluctuate throughout the day or throughout a lifetime. Some are permanent and others are transient.

Types of MS

The patterns for multiple sclerosis tend to fall into one of four categories. The first, relapsing/remitting, is the most common form at onset. There are attacks on the nerves (relapses), then the body recuperates (remittance.) Nevertheless, damage from these attacks is cumulative, and disability can increase as a person suffers more attacks. Secondary progressive MS can emerge after years of the relapsing/remitting variety (although not always), and is characterized by a steady decline with no more attacks or recoveries. Primary progressive multiple sclerosis is characterized by a continual decline from the onset of the disease. Finally, relapsing/ progressive MS seems to exhibit occasional flare-ups while all along the progression is continuous.

MS Treatments and Outlook

Current treatments for multiple sclerosis include disease-modifying drugs, such as Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, and Rebif. These medications are taken as injections and are known to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in many patients. Certain types of steroids are used on patients with serious relapses in order to stop inflammation and damage to nerves. Novantrone & Tysabri, other multiple sclerosis drugs, are used in MS cases when treatment with the above ABC drugs fail to show results. Future prospects include oral medications and possible stem-cell remedies. A cure is thought to be around the corner, and with so many new medications created in just the past 15 years, this seems like a definite possibility.

*For further reference, please visit The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and The Mayo Clinic.