Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. MS is not contagious, and most people with the disease are able to live productive lives. It is estimated that approximately 15,000 Australians have MS.
In MS, the protective sheath (known as myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibres in your brain and spinal cord becomes damaged. The damaged areas become scarred, leaving hardened, or sclerotic, patches — hence the name.
Once the myelin is destroyed, the nerve is no longer able to send messages down the length of its cell, in much the same way as the loss of insulating material surrounding an electrical wire will interfere with its ability to transmit signals.
What causes MS?
Despite a number of theories, the overall cause of MS remains unknown. It is generally accepted that MS is an autoimmune disorder; in other words, the body’s immune system attacks its own myelin. Genetic and environmental factors are believed to play a role.
The first symptoms of MS usually occur between the ages of 20 and 40 years. It is about twice as common in women as in men, and it predominantly affects Caucasians living in temperate climates.
Symptoms of MS
The symptoms of MS depend on which nerves are affected. For example, if MS affects your optic nerve, your sight can be affected.
Symptoms vary widely from person to person and can include fatigue, impaired vision, loss of balance and muscle coordination, tremors, bladder and bowel problems, and partial or complete paralysis.
MS is an unpredictable disease. There is no way of knowing in any particular individual what will be the progress or severity of the illness, which part of the body will be affected, or the extent of recovery that will possibly occur after each demyelinating episode.
The course of the disease
Just as the symptoms vary among individuals with MS, so does the course of the disease. Some people can be minimally affected, while others suffer severe progressive disability. However, the majority of people with MS do not become severely disabled.
In general, the course of MS tends to follow one of 2 patterns: the more common relapsing-remitting form and the progressive forms.
In the relapsing-remitting form of MS, people experience episodes where symptoms suddenly appear or get worse for a period of days to months, but then resolve fully or partially. The interval between these attacks can vary widely from weeks to years. Eventually, relapsing-remitting MS can develop into the progressive form of the disease, when the term ‘secondary progressive’ is used.
In the less common primary progressive form of the disease, people become steadily more disabled, without any recovery from or reversal of the disability.
Treatment
As yet there is no cure for MS, but there are treatments available that can help slow the progress of the disease and provide relief for some symptoms.
There have been some significant advances in treatments for MS and understanding of the MS disease process in recent years and, as a consequence, research to find a cure is looking very promising.
Last Reviewed: 26 November 2007
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