Trailer for 'Introducing, Selma Blair' shows the star's MS battle
The first trailer has been released for "Introducing, Selma Blair," a Discovery+ documentary about actress Selma Blair's battle with multiple sclerosis.
The trailer shows raw and emotional moments as Blair deals with symptoms of the illness and treatments for it, including chemotherapy. We also see glimpses of the actress at some of her lowest points, as well as more joyful times spent with her 10-year-old son, Arthur.
“I always thought I was on a reality show,” she says at the beginning of the trailer. “Like, I was in a documentary but only god would see it ... and disapprove.”
The "Cruel Intentions" actress revealed her diagnosis in 2018. Earlier this week, she showed her love and support for her "Sweetest Thing" co-star Christina Applegate after Applegate went public with her own MS diagnosis.
The Mayo Clinic describes MS as "a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord." Currently, there is no known cure, but there are treatments available.
"Introducing, Selma Blair" will open in select theaters on Oct. 15 and launch on Discovery+ on Oct. 21.
What to know about multiple sclerosis
How common is MS?
It’s estimated that 1 million people in the U.S. are affected by MS and nearly 2.1 million people worldwide are affected.
What are the demographics?
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, women are more likely to have MS, but men can get it too. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, but children and older adults may also develop the disease.
What is MS?
ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said to think of it as "a neurologic condition affecting the central nervous system with an immune component. Imagine that our nerves are a hose and it needs that insulation to get the water from point A to point B. You can think of MS as lots of little holes ... so it leaks and it disrupts the passage of those messages, those signals in the central nervous system."
What are the symptoms?
Ashton said symptoms can run the gamut. "People can complain of a squeezing sensation in their torso, fatigue, weakness, difficulty walking, stiffness or muscle spasms, loss of balance," she said. "This can affect speech, it can affect vision. It can affect bladder function. This is a debilitating and often progressive neurologic condition so the symptoms really vary."
Ashton added that women are four times more likely to be diagnosed than men.
"This is a great example of how the same condition, MS, really presents differently based on gender," she said.
What are the treatments?
There are multiple ways MS can be managed, such as using steroids and therapies that target the immune system, but it depends on factors including a patient's severity, disease stage and medical history.
"Treatment can be variable depending on the severity of disease, starting with steroids to help decrease the inappropriate immune response and can even involve plasma exchange," ABC News contributor Dr. Darien Sutton said.
What is the prognosis in general?
Symptoms may be temporary or permanent and can worsen over time. In some cases, it can lead to paralysis, but it varies case by case.
