Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a puzzling disease. While scientists know little about the causes of MS, they know much more about its potentially debilitating effects.
In people with MS, the immune system attacks the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). The symptoms of the disease are not continual. They come in episodes. Over time, these episodes can do much damage to the nerves, leaving some patients without the ability to walk or even speak.
There is no cure for MS. However, patients diagnosed with the disease should not feel helpless. There are many therapies that can treat attacks, treat symptoms, and change the course of the disease.
What is multiple sclerosis?
MS is an autoimmune disease, meaning it is driven by the immune system's attack on the body. In patients with MS, the immune system eats away at the layer protecting the nerves. This makes it difficult for the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. Eventually, the immune system's attack can damage the nerves themselves. Once the nerves are damaged, there is no way to fix them.
An estimated 2.1 million people are affected by MS around the world. In the United States alone, about 400,000 people are living with the disease. Every week, 200 more Americans are diagnosed with MS.
Women are much more likely to be diagnosed with MS than men. MS is also more common in places farther from the equator.
The signs and symptoms of MS vary widely, as the location and severity of each attack can be different. Some episodes may last for days, while others can continue for months.
In most patients, these episodes come and go. MS patients can experience periods of reduced or no symptoms. These periods are called remissions. However, symptoms commonly return in periods called relapses.
MS can damage the nerves in any part of the brain or spinal cord. As a result, symptoms of the disease can occur in many parts of the body. Symptoms may involve the muscles, bowel, bladder, eyes, brain, nerves, sexual problems, and speech. These symptoms may include:
- numbness or tingling in the arms, legs, face, or any other part of the body
- trouble walking
- speech problems
- coordination problems
- painful muscle spasms
- eye pain
- total or near-total loss of vision
- reduced attention span
- memory loss
- dizziness
- fatigue, which is often worse in the late afternoon
Types of MS
There are four types of MS. Each type is characterized by how the disease progresses.
Source: http://www.dailyrx.com/feature-article/explaining-multiple-sclerosis-15503.html
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