'encephalomyelitis disseminata' or 'disseminated sclerosis'?

[CureOrBust]

I have never heard MS referred as such.

Multiple sclerosis (often abbreviated to just 'MS' but also known as 'encephalomyelitis disseminata' or 'disseminated sclerosis') is an inflammatory disease that affects the neurons in the brain and spinal cord that carry information through the central nervous system.

http://www.helium.com/tm/173390/multipl ... bbreviated

[TwistedHelix]

Hello Cure,
I have heard those terms before, but I thought they were archaic and no longer used. Going back further in time I've read of people getting " creeping paralysis", and I've always assumed they were talking about MS, but I can't be sure,

[SarahLonglands]

Yes, "disseminated sclerosis" was the term still commonly used in the fifties, according to people old enough to remember. David's mother used to talk in hushed tones about someone housebound with it who lived nearby.

Creeping paralysis was an older term used both for MS and spinal stenosis:
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayart ... e1423.html

Sarah

[RedSonja]

Sometimes I have to confess I am sick ( to explain why I can't fry chips for 6 hours at fund raising events, or go skiing etc), and when people really want to know and I really don't want to say, then I tell them "encephalomyelitis disseminata, a rare disease of the central nervous system". This satisfies them and shuts them up at the same time, because it sounds so boring. If people want to know more I can tell them till they get bored.
Also, if I have to tell colleagues about it, I don't want them to think MS with its associations of wheelchair and nursing home, so I keep them happy with the Latin name.

[CureOrBust]

i like it!

[SarahLonglands]

So do I!