Traveller and Companion

Deborah DeCairos Grandmaitre, M.Ed., CCC

Canadian Certified Counsellor

Types of Multiple Sclerosis

Eighty percent of those diagnosed with MS start out with the relapsing-remitting form (RRMS). In this phase, individuals experience periodic flare-ups of symptoms, (often referred to as attacks, exacerbations or relapses), each followed by a complete or nearly complete recovery (remission).

The majority of individuals with RRMS enter a second phase of RRMS, known as secondary-progressive MS (SPMS). This phase is reached when the person experiences a progressive worsening of symptoms. SPMS may occur with or without superimposed relapses. A small subgroup of individuals with RRMS may follow a relatively benign course, still doing well with little or no disability after 20 years with the disease.

While the majority of people with MS (80 percent) are diagnosed with RRMS, another 15 percent fall under the heading of primary-progressive MS (PPMS). This form of MS presents a gradual accumulation of neurological deficits from the onset, without the presence of relapses and remissions.

The two other types of MS are: progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS), which shows a progressive course from the beginning while also having acute relapses, and malignant or fulminant MS, which describes a rapidly progressing disease course. Both types are very uncommon and rarely mentioned other than in a clinical setting.

Taken from: Multiple Sclerosis: Managing Symptoms 3rd ed., page 2,3. MSAA (Copyright Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, 1996, 1999, 2002.
All rights reserved). Written by Susan Wells Courtney. Edited by Jack Burks, MD, Andrea Borkowski, Neal Zoren.

More information on publications can be accessed from the MS Society/Associations websites.