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 About
MS
Introduction
 MS
is a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord
(central nervous system). The brain is like a computer that
sends messages to your body telling it what to do. The spinal
cord looks like a thick cable of wires attached to the brain.
Messages travel from the brain along the spinal cord to
the nerves and muscles throughout the body.
We still
do not know why, but when a person has MS, the covering
(myelin) that protects the nerves is damaged and that is
what causes problems. MS attacks the protective covering
- myelin - of the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation
and often damaging the myelin in patches. When this happens,
the natural flow of nerve impulses along nerve fibres is
interrupted or distorted. The result may be the wide variety
of MS symptoms, depending upon what part or parts of the
central nervous system is affected. The damaged parts of
myelin are often called "lesions" or "plaques".
Lesions on the myelin can block or slow down the messages
being sent along the nerves. So when the brain tells the
arm to wave, the message may not be clear, there may be
a delayed reaction, or it may never reach the arm at all.
The
severity of MS, progression and specific symptoms cannot
be predicted at the time of diagnosis. While MS can cause
disabilities, it is important to remember for most people
it will be many years before they may require even a cane
on a regular basis.
What causes MS?
While
the cause of MS is still unknown, it's a fact that:
- It's
not a mental illness
- It's
not contagious
- It's
not fatal
- It's
not hereditary.
Who
has MS?
MS is
diagnosed mostly in people between 15 & 40 years of
age. Nearly twice as many women as men develop MS. MS is
most prominent in people living further away from the equator.
What are
the symptoms people might experience when they have MS?
Symptoms
vary greatly from person to person and from time to time
in the same person. They also vary in severity and duration.
They might include:
- Extreme
fatigue
- Numbness
and prickly feelings
- Eye
trouble or speech problems
- Loss
of coordination or balance
- Poor
control of bladder or bowel movements
- Weakening
or paralysis of any part of the body
Remember
that the majority of people with MS do not have all of these
symptoms.
Types of MS
The
main types of MS are:
Relapsing-remitting
MS
- People with this type of MS have clearly defined attacks
(relapses) followed by partial or complete recovery (remissions).
This is the most common form of MS, accounting for 70% of
people at the time of diagnosis.
Primary-progressive
- relatively rare (10 to 15% at time of diagnosis). People
with this type of MS have a nearly continuous worsening
of MS from the beginning with no clear relapses or remissions.
Secondary-progressive
- about half of people with relapsing-remitting MS begin
to worsen within 10 years of diagnosis, with the possibility
of increasing levels of disability.
Progressive-relapsing
- relatively rare (about 15% at time of diagnosis), this
type of MS combines attacks with steady worsening and no
remissions.
Benign
MS
-few attacks with long periods of remission and little disability
after 15 years. About 20 - 25% of people who are diagnosed
originally with relapsing-remitting MS actually have this
type.
Malignant
MS
- rapid progressive disability within five years of diagnosis.
It is quite rare.
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