Dead To Me actress Christina Applegate has revealed to her Twitter followers that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The Emmy winner, who has appeared in many movies and TV shows since the 1980s made the announcement via a tweet earlier today, revealing that she was diagnosed with the potentially crippling disease a few months ago, and followed up with a second post which ended with a request for privacy.

The tweets read: "Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. 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 a**hole blocks it."

Her follow up tweet continued: "As one of my friends that has MS said " we wake up and take the indicated action". And that's what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo"

Multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease, occurs when the immune system begins to attack the sheath that protects nerve fibers, making it difficult for the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. MS often makes it more challenging to walk and move, and for some leads to paralysis in the legs. While there is no exact cause of MS, the disease primarily impacts women, and although it is usually not fatal, it can lower life expectancy by an average of five to ten years.

This is not the first medical issue that Applegate has fought, after being diagnosed with breast cancer over a decade ago, which led to the actress having a bilateral mastectomy. In 2008 she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and told the host, "I cry at least once a day about it because it's hard to overlook it when you're standing there in the mirror. When you look down, it's the first thing you see... So you're reminded constantly of this thing, this cancer thing that you had."

Still well remembered for her breakthrough role as a child actress playing daughter Kelly Bundy in Married...With Children which ran for ten years between 1987 and 1997. Her success spread from TV to movies pretty quickly, gaining her hits such has Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead, The Sweetest Thing, Anchorman, Vacation, Bad Moms and Crash Pad.

Applegate has received multiple Emmy nominations, but won for her guest appearance in Friends in 2003 and was nominated for the same role in 2004. She also received nominations in 2008 and 2009 for her lead role in Samantha Who?, and received more nominations a decade later for her lead role in Dead To Me.

Outside her on screen roles, Applegate is a vegetarian and has appeared in anti-fur advertisements for PETA. She has been married twice, most recently to Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble, with whom she has a daughter, Sadie Grace.

We join her fans in wishing her well and hope that the disease does not prevent her doing the things she wants to do in life for the foreseeable future.