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What is Multiple Sclerosis?
Read about :
What Causes Multiple Sclerosis?
Who Gets MS?
What are the types of MS?
What are the symptoms of MS?
What’s being done
through research?
What Is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological
diseases among young adults and affects around 85,000 people in the UK
with about 250,000 to 350,000 cases occurring annually in the USA. MS is
the result of damage to a substance called myelin. Myelin is a
protective sheath surrounding all the nerve fibres in the brain and
spinal cord. It acts much like the covering of an electric wire, helping
to conduct electrical impulses rapidly between the brain or spinal cord
and the rest of the body. It is the speed and efficiency with which
these impulses are conducted that permits smooth, rapid and co-ordinated
movements to be performed with little conscious effort. When myelin is
damaged, messages are slower, distorted, or non-existent and do not get
through properly, thus producing the various symptoms of MS. The areas
where myelin is lost or damaged appear as hardened areas (scars) known
as plaques or lesions and in MS these scars appear at different times
and in different areas of the brain and spinal cord. The term multiple
sclerosis meaning literally, many scars.
Scientists know what forms MS can take and how it can develop, but
they are still not sure why. They have plenty of clues about the causes,
but still cannot quite piece them together. Treatments are available to
help manage the symptoms, and new ones are being developed which have an
impact on the course of the condition.
What Causes Multiple Sclerosis?
MS has many factors and probably more than one cause, which have
still not been identified, but thousands of researchers all over the
world are meticulously putting the pieces of this complicated puzzle
together. The damage to myelin may be due to a viral or bacterial
infection. One theory is that a virus disturbs the immune system, or
indirectly sets off an auto-immune process; this means that the immune
system attacks itself. As scientists have been unable to find one
particular virus, which is responsible for MS, some researchers now
think that a common virus may act as a delayed trigger.
Who Gets MS?
Women are 50% more likely to develop MS than men, ie. three women for
every two men. MS is a disease of young adults, the average age of onset
being 29-33 years, although people are usually diagnosed between the
ages of 20 and 40, but it can be later. Children can also get MS but
this is rare. MS is not contagious, it is not inherited nor is it
genetically transmitted, although there is a slightly higher risk of MS
in families where it has already occurred. MS is also more prevalent in
temperate climates and the condition is more common in areas in northern
latitudes such as Scotland.
What are the types of MS?
MS shows up differently in each person. Many people with MS are only
mildly affected throughout their lives. At the other extreme a few
people deteriorate rapidly from the beginning and can have a shortened
life span. Most people with MS experience something in between these two
scenarios. There are four main types of MS and a great deal or
variability within each of them.
- BENIGN MS
This type starts with a small number of mild attacks followed by
complete recovery. It does not worsen over time and there is no
permanent disability. People can only be classified as having benign
MS when they have little sign of disability 10-15 years after the
original onset. Around 20% of people with MS have the benign form.
- RELAPSING-REMITTING MS
Most people with MS start with this type which means they have
attacks followed by remissions. During remissions they have fewer or
no symptoms. During a relapse new symptoms may occur or previous ones
return. A relapse may last hours, days, weeks or months and vary in
severity, sometimes requiring hospitalisation. Around 25% of people
with MS have the relapsing-remitting form.
- SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE MS
Many people who start out with relapsing-remitting MS develop a
form known as secondary progressive. This means that disability does
not go away after a relapse and progressively worsens between attacks,
or that attacks disappear altogether, with a progression of
disability. Around 40% of people with MS develop secondary
progressive, usually about 15-20 years after the initial onset of MS.
- PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE MS
Some people with MS never have distinct relapses and remissions. From
the start they experience steadily worsening symptoms and progressive
disability. This may level off at any time, or may continue to get
worse. Around 15% of people with MS have the primary progressive form
of the disease which is also known as chronic progressive.
What are the symptoms of MS?
The course of MS is unpredictable. Some people are minimally affected
by the disease while others have rapid progress to total disability.
Every individual will experience a different combination of symptoms
depending on which areas of the central nervous system have been
affected. There is not a typical set of symptoms that applies to
everyone and they can vary in severity and duration.
Symptoms may start with double or blurred vision, pain at the back of
the eye or nerve pain in the face. Some people experience hearing
problems, numbness, giddiness and loss of balance. Others find it hard
to concentrate and may become forgetful, or experience anxiety,
depression or other changes in behaviour. Other affected areas are those
controlling sensation, strength, speech and swallowing, bladder control
and sexuality. There may be nothing wrong with the actual muscles or
sensory organs; it is simply that not all the right messages are getting
through.
What’s being done through research?
Sufferers of MS are only too aware of the tremendous difficulties
facing research workers in their search for the cause and treatment of
this relatively common neurological disease. Basic research is intended
to work towards an understanding of the nature of the disease while
applied research is more concerned with management and treatment.
The Aims2Cure supported Research Technicians are investigating which
growth factors stimulate production of myelin in the first place, in
cultures of brain tissue and whether the same or different growth
factors are responsible for repair after inducing myelin breakdown.
Hence, the continuation of our support
is vital.
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