For more than 4 months now, patient H.C (35 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) has felt numbness and fatigue in her limbs and limbs, but the patient only thought it was a quick symptom if she exercised more often. However, after many consecutive months, the patient has not yet recovered, and the doctor has diagnosed the patient with scattered stiff fiber. This disease is common in many different subjects, including young people such as patient C. Currently, patient C. is being treated by doctors for intensive intervention.
In Vietnam, there are no official statistics on the total number of people with scattered stiff fiber. At Military Hospital 175 alone, the number of cases recorded increased by 200-300% over the past year, from 3-5 cases to about 10-15 cases. The number is not large, but the increase reflects the new trend that the disease may have existed before but has not been detected due to lack of identification information and lack of qualified units.
Treatment costs are also a barrier for many patients. The first treatment drug has been available in Vietnam since 2023 and the price is still very high. Long-term effectiveness (over 5-6 years) is continuing to be monitored.
According to Dr. Hoang Tien Trong Nghia, Head of the Department of Neurology, Military Hospital 175, multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most complex autoimmune neuropathy diseases today. The disease has a wide range of symptoms, making early identification extremely difficult.
Patients may start with vague signs such as numbness, fatigue, urinary tract disorders to severe symptoms such as weak limbs. Some cases come to the hospital with optical symptoms: blurred vision on one side, double vision... "Due to the autoimmune mechanism attacking the brain and spinal cord, we cannot predict where and when the disease will harm," Dr. Nghia explained. Damage to the motor area causes weakness, damage to the sensory area causes numbness, damage to the optic nerve causes vision loss.
It is this diversity that makes the disease easy to miss. Patients often think they are just "in fact, due to a nerve attraction", leading to delays in examination. Meanwhile, MS is common in the 1840 age group, the main working age group, and women are much at higher risk than men. That is a big burden for the family and society, Dr. Nghia emphasized.
In the world, the number of MS cases is increasing significantly. The World Federation's report on MS in 2023 recorded an increase in the disease in all continents, including Southeast Asia. Vietnam currently does not have accurate data, but at Military Hospital 175, the number of diagnosed cases in the past year increased by 2-3 times compared to before.
Diagnosis of MS is also very challenging, as the disease is easily confused with many other autoimmune neurological disorders. Medical facilities need to be equipped with specialized MRI, OCT, electrolytes... and a team of doctors trained in immunology and neurology.
Doctor Nghia notes an important message: " Any unusual symptoms of the nervous system, numbness, weak limbs, blurred vision, urinary tract disorders, etc. need to be examined early at specialized facilities to avoid missing the disease".
