Guide4Living » Multiple Sclerosis http://www.guide4living.com/notes Guide4Living - Breast Cancer - HIV - MS - Parkinsons - Drug Abuse Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:05:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 MS http://www.guide4living.com/notes/2006/01/28/to-be-updated-5/ http://www.guide4living.com/notes/2006/01/28/to-be-updated-5/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:18:24 +0000 sgbservices http://www.guide4living.com/notes/2006/06/28/to-be-updated-5/

Multiple sclerosis is one those “young peoples diseases” and always seems to hit at one of those “peak” times in our lives, ie: when career just taking off, or family just established etc. It’s a disease with multiple factors in its causation which makes research the more difficult and a disease where “support” is as important as the treatment. Here is a quick summary.

  • MS is a progressive disease of the nervous system, for which there is no cure.
  • An estimated 2,500,000 people in the world have MS.
  • More women than men have MS, with a ratio of 2 men to 3 women affected.
  • MS is the most common diseases of the central nervous system in young adults.
  • There are four types of MS: benign, relapsing remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive.
  • Sclerosis means scars, these are the plaques or lesions in the brain and spinal cord.
  • In MS, the protective myelin covering of the nerve fibres in the central nervous system is damaged.
  • Inflammation and ultimate loss of myelin causes disruption to nerve transmission and affects many functions of the body.
  • While the exact cause of MS is not known, much is known about its effect on immune system function which may be the ultimate cause of the disease.
  • MS is not directly hereditary, although genetic susceptibility plays a part in its development.
  • MS is not contagious.
  • Diagnosis of MS is generally between 20 and 40 years of age, although onset may be earlier.
  • MS is rarely diagnosed under 12 and over 55 years of age.
  • Life span is not significantly affected by MS.
  • There are a wide range of symptoms. Fatigue is one of the most common.
  • The incidence of MS increases in countries further from the equator.
  • There is no drug that can cure MS, but treatments are now available which can modify the course of the disease.
  • Many of the symptoms of MS can be successfully managed and treated.

    • Neil

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