Multiple sclerosis
hideMultiple sclerosis (abbreviated MS, also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune response attacks a person's central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), leading to demyelination. Disease onset usually occurs in young adults, and it is more common in females. It has a prevalence that ranges between 2 and 150 per 100,000. MS was first described in 1868 by Jean-Martin Charcot.
MS affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. Nerve cells communicate by sending electrical signals called action potentials down long fibers called axons, which are wrapped in an insulating substance called myelin. In MS, the body's own immune system attacks and damages the myelin. When myelin is lost, the axons can no longer effectively conduct signals. The name multiple sclerosis refers to scars (scleroses—better known as plaques or lesions) in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, which is mainly composed of myelin. Although much is known about the mechanisms involved in the disease process, the cause remains unknown. Theories include genetics or infections. Different environmental risk factors have also been found.
Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease, and often progresses to physical and cognitive disability and neuropsychiatric disorder. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks (relapsing forms) or slowly accumulating over time (progressive forms). Between attacks, symptoms may go away completely, but permanent neurological problems often occur, especially as the disease advances.
There is no known cure for MS. Treatments attempt to return function after an attack, prevent new attacks, and prevent disability. MS medications can have adverse effects or be poorly tolerated, and many patients pursue alternative treatments, despite the lack of supporting scientific study. The prognosis is difficult to predict; it depends on the subtype of the disease, the individual patient's disease characteristics, the initial symptoms and the degree of disability the person experiences as time advances. Life expectancy of patients is nearly the same as that of the unaffected population.
For more information about Multiple sclerosis, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with multiple sclerosis
MS is more aggressive in children but slower to cause disability than in adults
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in childhood show that pediatric onset multiple sclerosis is more aggressive, and causes more brain lesions, than MS diagnosed in adulthood, researchers ...
Men leave: Separation and divorce far more common when the wife is the patient
Nov 10, 2009 |
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A woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if a man in the relationship is the patient, according to a study that examined the role gender played ...
Teenage obesity linked to increased risk of MS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Teenage women who are obese may be more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults compared to female teens who are not obese, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of ...
Crossing the line: how aggressive cells invade the brain (w/ Video)
Nov 05, 2009 |
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In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cells of the immune system infiltrate the brain tissue, where they cause immense damage. For many years, it was an enigma as to how these cells can escape from the bloodstream. ...
What part do relapses play in severe disability for people with MS?
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 04, 2009 |
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ST. PAUL, Minn. -People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according ...
Neurologists Investigate Possible New Underlying Cause of MS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Neurologists at the University at Buffalo are beginning a research study that could overturn the prevailing wisdom on the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers will test the possibility that ...
Gentle touch may aid multiple sclerosis patients
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While gripping, lifting or manipulating an object such as drinking from a cup or placing a book on a shelf is usually easy for most, it can be challenging for those with neurological diseases such as multiple ...
Scientists identify 2 genes as potential therapeutic targets for multiple sclerosis
Sep 11, 2009 |
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A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings give researchers new hope for developing more effective therapies for ...
Virus responsible for deadly brain disease found in MS patients treated with natalizumab
Sep 09, 2009 |
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The virus responsible for PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), a rare brain disease that typically affects AIDS patients and other individuals with compromised immune systems, has been found to be reactivated ...
Cigarettes, not Swedish snuff linked to increased risk of MS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 31, 2009 |
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While smoking cigarettes appears to significantly increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis, using Swedish snuff does not, according to a study published in the September 1, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the me ...
National search for proteins that cause MS
Aug 26, 2009 |
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Australian researchers will aim to discover the proteins that cause multiple sclerosis (MS), thanks to a new nationwide research effort.
Important development in the treatment of multiple sclerosis reported
Aug 24, 2009 |
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A major step forward, with important implications for understanding how to reduce the severity of multiple sclerosis, has been made by scientists at the University of Bristol. The results are published online ...
Smoking linked to increased brain lesions and brain shrinkage in MS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 17, 2009 |
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People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the me ...
Inexpensive hypertension drug could be multiple sclerosis treatment
Aug 17, 2009 |
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Turning serendipity into science, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a link, in mice and in human brain tissue, between high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis. Their findings suggest ...
Multiple sclerosis successfully reversed in animals
Aug 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at ...
