What is Multiple Sclerosis?

I’m sure at least some of you reading this blog do not know what Multiple Sclerosis is; well that’s what this post is going to be about. I will be talking a little about what MS is, what some of the symptoms are and what some of the current treatments are that MS patients are using.

MS is considered a chronic disease which attacks the central nervous system (CNS) which includes the brain, the spinal cord and the optic nerve. People diagnosed with MS can experience symptoms ranging from mild numbness in the limbs to more severe and debilitating problems such as a loss of vision or paralysis. These symptoms vary from person to person although most people do share at least one or more symptom. With MS, which is thought to be an autoimmune disease, the system which is meant to protect the body instead attacks the body, specifically myelin. Myelin is the fatty substance which surrounds and protects the nerve fibers that are in the CNS. Once the myelin is damaged scar tissue, or sclerosis, forms, additionally the nerve fibers themselves can be damaged. Once this takes place nerve impulses that travel between the brain and spinal cord can be interrupted or distorted causing the multitude of symptoms that can occur.

To explain this in more understandable terms you can think of the central nervous system as the electrical system in your house, the brain is like your breaker box, the nerve fibers are like all the wires running through your house and the spinal cord can be compared to all of your outlets. If that thick protective rubber coating around your wires gets eaten by mice then chances are when you flip on your lamp the electrical signal traveling to the lamp is not going to be received as intended, the wire may spark, melt or catch fire and the lamp most likely won’t turn on . Well this is quite like what those of us with MS go through every day.

I mentioned a couple of symptoms above however there are many more that can affect a person with MS. Fatigue is one of the more common symptoms that occurs in about 80% of all MS patients, this fatigue can be so strong that it can severely interfere with a person’s ability to function whether at home or at work. I mentioned the numbness that is common with MS and in fact it is often one of the first symptoms that a person will experience. This numbness can affect the arms, legs, feet, body and face. From personal experience I can say that, at least in my case, the numbness can get so bad I can’t feel my legs and feet and when I can feel them it feels like I am being poked with a million little needles. Another symptom is trouble walking, a loss of balance or coordination, so much so that it is not uncommon that those with MS are thought to be drunk when they are stone cold sober. Many MS patients suffer from bowel dysfunction while 80% suffer from bladder dysfunction. Dizziness is another common problem while vertigo happens somewhat less. Another symptom that is often one of the first experienced is vision problems, double vision, poor contrast, pain and heavy blurring can all occur. In addition severe pain, depression, sexual dysfunction, headaches, hearing loss, speech disorders, and itching can all take place. As you can see this is a wide range of symptoms and there are still others experienced by some people.
Well before I bore all of you with any more of this terribly exciting information I think I will end this post. I will pick up later with information on treatments that are currently being used and the good news from the political front that concerns MS.

Have a good day everyone.
Jamie




Jamie