Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder where the myelin sheath within the Central Nervous System is attacked (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2017). The myelin sheath protects the axon of the nerve cell. When the myelin sheath is intact, the axon is able to carry impulses away from the neuron’s cell body, and the message carried is clear. With Multiple Sclerosis, the myelin sheath becomes scarred, hence the word “sclerosis”, and distorts the nerve impulses traveling over the CNS (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2017). This may cause the message to be changed or stopped altogether.
This disorder affects an estimated 2.3 million people around the world (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2017) and 400,000 people in the US
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MS can cause debilitating pain that may leave with temporary symptoms or may be permanent (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2017). One third of all patients with MS will suffer from transient symptoms, rather than enduring (NIH, 2013). After 15 years on onset MS, 20 percent of patients are bedridden or institutionalized, and another 20 percent require assistance walking with a wheelchair or other aide (NIH, 2013).
There is no cure for Multiple Sclerosis (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Most treatment is focused on improving quality of life by treating symptoms and slowing its progression. There are a few drugs to help slow progression, most of which are for relapsing-remitting MS (Mayo Clinic, 2017). In March of this year, the FDA approved the first drug for primary-progressive MS (FDA, 2017), called ocrelizumab, which slows the advancement of disability (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Ocrelizumab may cause infusion related reactions, such as hives, shortness of breath, fever, etc, and may lead to an upper respiratory tract infection (FDA, 2017). Acute relapses are treated with corticosteroids to reduce nerve inflammation, a traditional and approved method of treatment. (NIH, 2013). To treat symptoms, those with MS may go to physical therapy to help strengthen muscles and manage gait problems (Mayo Clinic, 2017). They may also use muscle relaxers to treat extremely painful
Having the disease multiple sclerosis can affect one's life tremendously. In the essay, "On Being A Cripple", the author Nancy Mairs suffers from the disease and has a love-hate relationship with it. Socially, it appears that although Mairs has the disease, she accepts it and does normal things like going on vacations with her family. However, personally, it's hard for her at times and she gets into a depressed state and wishes she didn't have the disease when she has a falling or an incident. Multiple Sclerosis, also referred to as “MS”, is a disease that can affect one's brain, spinal cord, and eyes.
Multiple Sclerosis known as MS is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord this disease, unfortunately has no cure, and would cause a person’s life to progress to become more and more difficult each day. They begin to lose the ability to control their body movements and make it seem almost impossible to carry out simple, everyday function (Nordqvist, 2012). Patient’s that battle diseases such as this will no longer have the will to live because they know that there health will not get any better and they will soon die a
1. Main point 2: So now that I have talked about what MS is, let us continue on to what the symptoms are and how it can be diagnosed. In most cases, the symptoms generally appear between the ages of 20 and 40 and affect more than twice as many women as men. Common indicators of MS are fatigue, dizziness, numbness and tingling, weakness, blurred vision, heat sensitivity, slurred speech, problems with memory and concentration, loss of balance and more. Sometimes the symptoms disappear completely and the person regains lost functions or sometimes a change in their life causes the symptoms to resurface and return stronger than ever. In my observations, my Dads’ MS is strongest in hot weather and during times of high stress. The symptoms normally vary from person to person, which makes it hard to diagnose. There are currently no lab tests that can be done to rule out or confirm MS, but MRI’s can help reach a strong diagnosis. MS is not considered a fatal disease, but many people struggle to live as productively as they desire, often facing many limitations.
Multiple Sclerosis, commonly known as MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Scientists have been studying MS since the 19th century. In MS, the body’s immune system produces cells and antibodies that attack myelin in your brain which is essential for the nerves in your brain and spinal cord to conduct electricity to perform its function. The attack on myelin results in vison loss, paralysis, numbness, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, stiffness, spasms, and bladder and bowel problems. MS has varying degrees of severity and affects people between the ages of 20-50, mostly women. Although there are treatments, there is no cause and cure yet.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an acquired demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that typically is diagnosed in the second or third decade of life. Normally, nerves are enclosed in myelin sheaths that help facilitate transmission of nerve impulses within the CNS and the peripheral nervous system throughout the body. In patients with MS, the myelin sheath is damaged and eventually degenerates, causing patches of scar tissue called plaques or lesions to occur anywhere randomly on the myelin sheath (Ruto, 2013). This results in impaired nerve conductivity, which interferes with message transmission between the brain and the other parts of the body. As a result, impulse transmission is altered, distorted, short-circuited,
Multiple Sclerosis affects more people than most would think. MS is an unpredictable disease that attacks the central nervous system but it is a difficult disease to diagnose due to multiple unknown factors. Each diagnosed case of MS is unique depending upon factors given by the patient. Understanding the different courses of Multiple Sclerosis, early diagnosis and the treatments of the disease all play an important role in bringing awareness of MS. Learning about Multiple Sclerosis can bring opportunities for patients, family and friends such as planned events like the MS Walk. For now there is no cure but raising awareness is the first step to finding one.
Multiples sclerosis, also known as MS, is a disease in which a patient’s immune system attacks his or her central nervous system. Within the central nervous system, the myelin sheaths of individual nerves are attacked and damaged causing a break in communication between the patient’s brain and his and her body. The location of this disease is within the myelin sheaths on the nerves located in the central nervous system.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, particularly the central nervous system (CNS). In MS the immune system attacks the myelin, which is the protective sheath that covers the nerve fibers and causes communication between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause the nerves to deteriorate or even lead to permanent damage. They deteriorate in variable degrees and produce significant disability within 20-25 years in more than 30% of patients, (Luzzio, 2016). The majority of people diagnosed with MS are adults between the ages of 20 and 45; twice as many women are affected compared to men. However, MS can present itself in childhood or late middle age, but is uncommon. According to Goldenberg (2012), there is no known cause for this debilitating disease, but it appears to involve a combination of genetic susceptibility and a nongenetic trigger, such as a virus, metabolism, or environmental factors
If you know anyone with Multiple Sclerosis or MS, you would know how terrible the disease is. Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which your immune system attacks the nerve cell covers in the brain and spine are damaged. The nerves in the body eventually deteriorate and it is fatal. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the cause of Multiple sclerosis is still unknown. There is not a cure at the moment for Multiple Sclerosis, but there are treatments that can speed recovery when attacked by the disease (Mayo Clinic). Scientists are under the impressions that there are a few factors that may come into play. They say that when they discover the exact cause of Multiple Sclerosis it will be easier to find a way to treat the disease or maybe even stop it from happening at all. (National Multiple Sclerosis Society)
Currently there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, but there are drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration - the US government agency that deals with the regulation of food and pharmaceutical products - which have proved able to slow the course of the disease. Moreover, many technological and therapeutic advances are able to help those affected by multiple sclerosis to manage the symptoms of the disease. Every year there are a lot of progress in trying to understand the causes of multiple sclerosis, in order to find a really encouraging care. Current medications such as Avonex , Betaferon , Copaxone , Extavia , Gilenya , Novantrone, Rebif , Tecfidera and Tysabri .help to decrease the frequency and intensity of attacks that occur in the disease, to reduce the accumulation of lesions (damaged areas) in the brain and slowing
Brain signals can often not reach their destination because of the damage to the nerves. What causes the damage to the myelin? Basically, T-cells which are part of white blood cells. Normally, white blood cells attack foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria or other foreign tissues but in people with MS these cells get confused and attack myelin which is why MS is considered an autoimmune deficiency. MS is often disabling meaning that a wheelchair is needed. However, people with this disease suffer from a wide variety of problems, from trouble walking and maintaining balance, muscle weakness, spasms, pain, fatigue, sensation of numbness, and vision problems to name a few. These symptoms are often in recurring periods of time with worsening symptoms, people who suffer from MS have moments where the symptoms are hardly noticeable, and moments when the symptoms are very severe (NMSS).
Multiple sclerosis (also known as MS) is an autoimmune disease which affects the spinal cord and brain (central nervous system). It is considered to be one of the most mysterious diseases because there are no exact recognition on its causes; there is no cure as well. Rather, treatment is used to prevent its attacks. The common mechanism of multiple sclerosis is the failure of myelin to produce cells because of the destruction of the immune system. Myelin is part of a neuron which helps propagation of impulses (electrical messages) of the central nervous system. It is also an essential part of the central nervous system. The United States,
The course of the disease is also uncertain. In general, though, the disease follows several known patterns. These patterns are grouped under the heading “chronic progressive MS.” Relapsing-remitting MS is a form of MS in which patients experience series of actively symptomatic periods called attacks followed by remissions. Secondary-progressive MS begins after RRMS. This disease advances progressively, marked by acute attacks. Primary-progressive MS is marked by a gradual worsening of symptoms, but the attacks are not acute. Patients may have temporary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurologic disease that affects the Central Nervous System (CNS) through cellular immune response and the demyelination of CNS white matter (McCance et al., 2014, pp. 630–633). The initial causes of MS are unknown however, it is believed that it could possibly be due to an immune response to an initiating infection or an autoimmune response to CNS antigens on the myelin itself (Brück, 2005) (Miljković and Spasojević, 2013). MS is a result of the degradation of the myelin sheath surrounding neurons and therefore disrupts the transmission of action potentials along these cells. MS can display itself in the form of symptoms ranging from muscle weakness to trouble with sensation and coordination (NHS, 2016). The degradation of myelin leads the body to attempt to remyelinate the neurons, a process that in turn leads to the thickening of the cell by glial cells and this causes lesions to form (Chari, 2007). It is this thickening (sclerae) from which the disease gets its name. Sufferers of MS can either have a relapsing type of MS, in which there are episodes that lead to the worsening of symptoms for a period of time, or a progressive type of MS where symptoms gradually progress and worsen (McCance et al., 2014, pp. 630–633).
There are many debilitating side effects and symptoms that accompany Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In MS, the immune system essentially fights itself and attacks its own body’s cells, causing progressive damage in the brain and spinal chord. Some key symptoms and side effects of the disease are vision problems, muscle weakness, and trouble walking or speaking. However, this is not it, There are many more side effects and symptoms that very between individuals. Some of the symptoms that haven't thoroughly been researched are the changes that occur in the brain of an MS patient, especially a pediatric MS patient. There are several existing hypothesis about Multiple Sclerosis’ debilitating effects in the brain, but no concrete research done on the