Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It occurs when the immune system attacks the central nervous system, which leads to demyelination. A demyelination disease is a disease of the nervous system when the myelin of the neutrons is damaged. Multiple sclerosis usually develops in young adults but can occur in just about any age group. It is most prominent in women. The very first case of multiple sclerosis was discovered in 1868 by Jean Martin Charcot.
Multiple sclerosis affects the brain and the spinal cord; specifically the myelin sheath that is wrapped around the nerve fibers. These myelin sheaths electrically insulate the nerve fibers when working properly. Despite being discovered over a century ago, there is no known cause of multiple sclerosis. There are ideas that the disease can be caused genetically, by an infection or even by other environmental factors. There is also no known cure for multiple sclerosis. Treatment is used to restore the body to a somewhat normal state after an attack and is used to possibly help prevent any further attacks. Having multiple sclerosis does not affect the life expectancy of patients. MS patients tend to live just as long as the non affected population.
There are a variety of symptoms that can appear in a person that might have multiple sclerosis but not all of them will appear at once. These symptoms will appear gradually and from time to time. They are weakness, inability to balance or stand, acute or chronic pain, fatigue, muscle spasms, random eye twitching along with bladder and bowl difficulties.
As mentioned earlier, there are some environmental factors that could play a role in the development of multiple sclerosis. They are extreme stress, a decreased exposure to the sunlight, decreased Vitamin D intake and production and even smoking.
There are treatments available today for patients with multiple sclerosis but there is no known cure for the debilitating disease. The main focus of the treatments is to return the body to a normal functioning state, prevent any future attacks and to prevent any disability to the body. Some alternative treatments not used widely by many doctors is a specific diet tailored to the patient, the use of hyperbaric oxygenation and different types of herbal medication.
The prognosis for people with the disease is promising despite no known cure. Almost 40 percent of patients reach the seventh decade of their life and 15 percent of deaths from the disease are directly related to suicide. Over 50 percent of deaths in multiple sclerosis patients is directly related to the consequences of the disease. The majority of patients with multiple sclerosis loss the ability to walk prior to death but 90 percent of patients are still able to walk 10 years after the disease was diagnosed. More over; the number is at 75 percent for people who have had the disease for 15 years.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that cannot be entirely prevented nor entirely cured. With proper treatment and excellent care patients with the disease can go about living their lives.
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