#ClinicSpeak: no wonder MSers have such a hard time in society

Subtle cognitive deficits in MS may underlie how MSers interact with society. #ClinicSpeak #ResearchSpeak #BartsMS

Definition: Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other being's frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feelings with the heart of another. There are many definitions for empathy which encompass a broad range of emotional states. Types of empathy include cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and somatic empathy. (Source Wikipedia)

It is said that to be a good doctor you have to have empathy; you have to have the ability to fee and understand what your patient's are experiencing. What about your patients? You may find the study below of interest, it showed that on average people with MS have lower levels of empathy than controls. Why? I suspect this is due to MS and is another example of a hidden MS symptom. 

Empathy is a complex emotion and involves the so called mirror neuron system.  The circuity starts in the premotor part of the frontal lobe and involves an extensive network including a behavioural and motor responses. I am not surprised this system is damage in MS. People who lack empathy have problems interacting with others and with society in general. Therefore this is another dimension to MS that needs to be considered when interpreting the high unemployment, high divorce rates, depression, anxiety and social exclusion in MS. If we treat MS early and effectively and protect your brain then the neurological circuitary responsible for empathy is likely to be preserved, and protected, and you won't suffer the consequences from it being damaged.

How sure are you that your MS is under control? Have you asked?  


Almeida et al. Patients with multiple sclerosis present low levels of empathy. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2016 Dec;74(12):982-985.

METHODS: This is a single center, cross-sectional study, of 34 patients with MS and 34 matched control subjects. A specific questionnaire (empathy quotient) was used.

RESULTS: Patients with MS showed significantly lower levels of empathy. This finding was not correlated with disease duration, degree of disability, drugs for treating MS or lesion load on resonance magnetic imaging.

CONCLUSION: Decreased empathy is a frequent condition in patients with MS and should be addressed in order to diminish the psychosocial burden of this neurological disease.

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