Question Title: Agression & Multiple Sclerosis

I now know of four people who have been diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis. Each of them have developed aggressive personalities. Three of the four had no evidence of even appropriate aggession prior to the diagnosis. My mother told me of two people she know who developed MS and also showed aggressive behaviour. I have reviewed a lot of information on the internet and so far have found nothing on such personality changes with MS. Is it common? If so, or not, what is the percentage of patients in which it shows up? Does it last or go into remission? Is it treatable or is it intractable? At what point in the progress of the disease does it start and what is its progression.

Thank you for any information you can provide.
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Hello Ruth!

Multiple clerosis can affect nerve fibers that descend from the surface of the brain to deeper parts of the brain concerned with the regulation of mood and behavior, and a loss of control of emotion can occur if such a problem is severe. This is known as emotional incontinenec or pathological crying (if mostly sadness), but can occur for aggression and inability to control other impulsive behaviors as well. When one adds the stress of a disabling neurological condition into the mix, this may help serve as fuel for the fire of emotional overload, and previously quiet people can become aggressive, and previously emotionally stable people can become unstable. There is no specific medical literature on when or how often aggressiveness in particular is seen in M.S., and thus neither I nor anyone else can quote you any percentages, especially on such a difficult thing to define and attempt to quantify as aggressiveness. Whether or not symptoms improve or not in MS is very unpredictable. If the symptom comes on abruptly as part of a pattern of relapsing-remitting disease, the most common subtype, there is a good chance it will improve. If it is a gradually, slowly evolving problem, the likelihood of it going away or improving lessens significantly. There are reports of seretonin reuptake inhibitor drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil improving the problem of emotional incontinence. Please remember that information provided on the forum is intended for general medical informational pruoposes only and that the actual diagnosis and treatment of your or people you know's medical illnesses should be strictly in conjunction with theri treating physicians. We hope you find the information helpful

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