Multiple Sclerosis: It is a progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system, so named because of the many sites in which hardened (or sclerotic) scar tissue has replaced the normal myelin sheaths of the neurons.

There are approximately 1.1 million people worldwide who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), some 400,000 of them live in the United States. Multiple Sclerosis is a life-long debilitating autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord of the patient.

Multiple Sclerosis works by disrupting the nerve impulses traveling through the central nervous system. The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord and millions of nerve cells that are joined by nerve fibers. Electrical impulses begin in the various nerve cells through out the body and travel along the nerve fibers until it reaches the brain. The never fibers are encased in myelin, a fatty substance that coats the fibers to protect them.

During flare-ups of Multiple Sclerosis, the myelin becomes swollen and inflamed. When this happens, it then detaches from the nerve fibers. As this continues to occur, the myelin is destroyed and hardened patches (sclerosis) of scar tissue forms. Where this takes place, the area is damaged and prevents or delays the nerve impulses from reaching your brain. There is evidence that the disease can run if families because at least twenty percent of the victims of Multiple Sclerosis have relatives that are also affected. Hereditary doesn’t account for all the cases though.

Symptoms: The symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis will vary depending on where the sclerosed areas are in the central nervous system. The early symptoms are often hard to pinpoint so they are often misdiagnosed. A few of the more common symptoms are double or blurred vision, ophthalmic pain or even loss of sight due to an inflammation of the optic nerve, tingling or numbness in the hands or feet and/or weakness in the arms or legs. Victims of Multiple Sclerosis may also suffer from fatigue, dizziness, loss of coordination and balance as well as difficulty walking. The patient may also have dysfunctions with their bladder or bowels. They will often have sexual dysfunctions as well. As these symptoms occur, secondary ones start to appear.

Other possible symptoms are seizures, hearing loss, dysphagia or a difficulty in swallowing, itching, headaches and muscle spasms. As the symptoms seem to start snowballing, all aspects of the patient’s life, job, family, relationships and mental outlook are affected.

Dysfunctions of the bladder will often lead to chronic urinary infections. Slurred speech, forgetfulness, confusion, and weakness due to lack of musculature use are common occurrences. Postular alignment and control of torso (trunk), loss of bone density as well as difficulty or shallowness of breathing will also begin to occur. As the patient becomes more bedridden, the chances of bedsores also become a concern. Depression is a common problem in all stages of Multiple Sclerosis.

Treatment: All patients of Multiple Sclerosis do not end with complete disability and live fairly normal lives. The ones whose symptoms do continue to progress will be treated symptomatically. Some may be treated with limited corticosteroids while others may receive various types of beta interferons or the drug tizanidine hydrochloride. Other medications will aid with bladder problems, fatigue, muscle spasms and so on.

Unfortunately, there is no cure available for MS, but there is possibility of reducing the symptoms to some extent.