CHANGING ATTITUDE TOWARD MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
A PROGRAM OF MANAGEMENT
- Edward E. Gordon, M.D.;
- Karl E. Carlson, M.D.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
The attitude toward the course of multiple sclerosis is undergoing a change.1 "The classic" picture has emphasized the rapid progression, the swift onset of helplessness and early death. While such a portrait may apply to an individual case, it appears that the natural evolution, like the symptoms of the disease, is varied, and that many patients do retain usefulness for a long period of time. Moreover, when multiple sclerosis is studied in a group, the survival time appears to have been underrated; one recent statistical study indicates that the median duration of the disease is in the vicinity of 27 years,2 a surprisingly high estimate in comparison with previous views.
No prediction as to immediate course and prognosis is possible in each individual case. Every patient must be given the benefit of the doubt to as liberal an extent as the judgment of the physician can permit. No
Footnotes
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A monograph in elaboration of this paper can be obtained on request from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 270 Park Ave., New York 1.
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Read before the Section on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the One Hundredth Annual Session of the American Medical Association, Atlantic City, New Jersey, June 13, 1951.
