Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The 49-year-old actress took to Twitter on Tuesday to share the news, admitting that “it’s been a tough road.”
“A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS,” Applegate wrote in a tweet. “It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.”
“As one of my friends that has MS said ‘we wake up and take the indicated action.’ And that’s what I do,” she continued. “So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo.”
Applegate isn’t the first celebrity who’s been diagnosed with the disabling disease in recent years. The Dead to Me star’s announcement follows her The Sweetest Thing co-star Selma Blair’s diagnosis in 2019, as well as Sopranos actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Jack Osbourne, who were diagnosed with MS in 2016 and 2013, respectively.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It is treatable in most cases, though life expectancy is slightly reduced. It is twice or three times more common in women than men.
More than 2.3 million people have a diagnosis of MS worldwide, with nearly one million people over the age of 18 living with the disease in the U.S.
