Multiple sclerosis (MS) formerly known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata), is a chronic, potentially debilitating disease that affects your brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
An estimated 400,000 Americans have MS. It generally first occurs in people between the ages of 20 and 50. The disease is twice as common in women as in men.
The illness is probably an autoimmune disease, which means your immune system responds as if part of your body is a foreign substance.
The name multiple sclerosis refers to the scars (scleroses - better known as plaques or lesions) in the white matter. Multiple sclerosis may take several forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks (relapsing forms) or slowly accumulating over time (progressive forms).
MS can cause a variety of symptoms, including changes in sensation (hypoesthesia), muscle weakness, abnormal muscle spasms, or difficulty in moving; difficulties with coordination and balance (ataxia); problems in speech (dysarthria) or swallowing (dysphagia), visual problems (nystagmus, optic neuritis, or diplopia), fatigue and acute or chronic pain syndromes, bladder and bowel difficulties, cognitive impairment, or emotional symptomatology (mainly depression).
MS affects the neurons in the areas of the brain and spinal cord known as the white matter. These cells carry signals in between the grey matter areas, where the processing is done, and between these and the rest of the body.
In MS, your body directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath surrounding nerves in your brain and spinal cord. This causes inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to your nerves. The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis). The damage slows or blocks muscle coordination, visual sensation and other nerve signals.
Multiple sclerosis relapses are often unpredictable and can occur without warning with no obvious inciting factors. Some attacks, however, are preceded by common triggers. In general, relapses occur more frequently during spring and summer than during autumn and winter. Infections, such as the common cold, influenza, and gastroenteritis, increase the risk for a relapse.
The disease varies in severity, ranging from a mild illness to one that results in permanent disability.
Although there is no known cure for multiple sclerosis, several therapies have proven helpful. The primary aims of therapy are returning function after an attack, preventing new attacks, and preventing disability.
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