Multiple sclerosis, or MS as it is more commonly referred, is an immune mediated disease that involves the body's own defense mechanism, specialized immune cells, that ultimately attacks the central nervous system. Specifically, the myelin protein that coats axons and forms an electrically insulating layer for quicker processing of the nervous system, is attacked by cytotoxic cells that have crossed into the CNS. In a healthy patient, the blood brain barrier cannot be crossed by cytotoxic cells and it is speculated that an environmental component or outside source mediates this crossing. When the myelin is attacked, it forms scars in the CNS, as multiple sclerosis literally translates to “many scars,” which is the direct result of the disease. The scars disrupt the normal nerve impulses that travel through the central nervous system, and can cause a variety of symptoms including loss of cognition, fatigue, or numbness in the body (Evidence). …show more content…
While this may sound like an autoimmune disease, scientists are still unsure about what antigen the immune cells are attracted to attack, meaning it is “immune-mediated” as opposed to “autoimmune” (Evidence). This, like many components to MS, remains a mystery, and researchers are still discovering and advancing what we know about the disease.
When I received your letter, I made sure to research MS more in depth to provide you with as much information on the root cause of MS, as science will currently allow. As I mentioned, this disease remains partially a mystery but with new scientific breakthroughs, it is becoming more clear that a virus may be to
MS attacks the central nervous system of the nervous cell which is where the axon of the cell is located. the axon is the part of the nervous cell that is responsible for sending electrical signals from the brain to the muscle to do the action that you want to do ,and it also sends signals to organs in your body like your lungs. your brain send’s an a electrical signal to the lungs which goes threw the axon to make the lungs work. Myelin sheath covers the axon. The Myelin sheath protects the axon from other cells that try to attack the axon. MS makes the white blood cells (which attacks viruses) attack the myelin sheath for an unknown reason, then the axon creates a scar tissue instead of the damage on the myelin sheath but this scar tissue
Multiple Sclerosis, commonly known as MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Scientists have been studying MS since the 19th century. In MS, the body’s immune system produces cells and antibodies that attack myelin in your brain which is essential for the nerves in your brain and spinal cord to conduct electricity to perform its function. The attack on myelin results in vison loss, paralysis, numbness, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, stiffness, spasms, and bladder and bowel problems. MS has varying degrees of severity and affects people between the ages of 20-50, mostly women. Although there are treatments, there is no cause and cure yet.
Unfortunately, the exact cause of multiple sclerosis is not known yet however, it is considered an autoimmune disease in which the immune system does not function properly and destroys myelin in the brain. Myelin is the white covering or insulator around the axons or nerve fibers and it is made of proteins and phospholipids. When this myelin is damaged it exposes nerve fibers and they become without the myelin that is supposed to protect it and covers it, this causes messages traveling along the nerve to be slowed, blocked, or damaged and this effects the movement of the patient. Additionally, it is unclear why some people get MS; the causes are unknown, however the factors of increasing the risk of developing the disease could be from mainly
More than 400,000 of people are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in America and approximately 2.3million cases in the world (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, 2013). Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most common neurological diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) (Wei, 2014). The myelin sheath that wraps around the nerve fibers is being attacked by our body immune system, which affects the body’s actions and responses as cell-to-cell communication to and from the brain is delayed (Mendes, 2016). The disease commonly affects people between the age of 20 to 50, and women are more likely than men to develop the disease (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, 2013).
Rolak, L. A. (2003). Multiple Sclerosis: It’s Not the Disease You Thought It Was. Clinical
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system (CNS), presenting with unpredictable clinical relapses and remissions . these relapses are the clinical expression of acute inflammatory reaction in the CNS (1) .
The cause is still unknown-scientists believe the disease is triggered by as-yet-unidentified environmental factor in a person who is genetically predisposed to respond (National Multiple Sclerosis Society). Multiple Sclerosis affects about 2.3 million people worldwide and is thought to be triggered in a genetically susceptible individual by a combination of one or more environmental factors. Most patients are diagnosed with MS between the ages of 20 and 50, they are not born with the disease, it’s two to three times more likely that woman get the disease than men, Caucasians are more vulnerable, and those that are of European extraction. One major unanswered question is whether MS is a single disease or if it could be multiple diseases with different antigens that are affecting different
Multiple Sclerosis is an Autoimmune Disease that attacks the central nervous system. The central nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Our bodies are made up of neurons that have cell bodies and axons, they help us with speaking, thinking and every other thing our body does. "Myelin" National Multiple Sclerosis Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.. says, “Each neuron is made up of a cell body and an axon (the extension of the cell body that carries messages). Most of the axons in the central nervous system are wrapped in myelin, a substance rich in lipids (fatty substances) and proteins.” With MS the myelin is damaged and sometimes gets destroyed completely. MS also affects T-Cells, which are what detects when
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic, autoimmune, and degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Its etiology is unknown, but a combination of environmental and genetic factors is likely responsible for its development. MS occurs when one’s immune system attacks the fatty protein myelin, which insulates and protects the axons of oligodendrocytes in the brain and spinal cord. Damage to this sheath can cause the miscommunication between these oligodendrocytes and the rest of the body, and additionally causes painful and debilitating symptoms. The severity of these symptoms varies from one person to another and is dependent on the extent of the nerve damage and the types of nerves that have been affected. This disease effects one’s motor and cognitive abilities, and can oftentimes lead to severe impairment of one’s movement and speech. There is no known cure for this inflammatory disease, but medication and therapy can help alleviate the effects as the disease progresses.
All four doctors agreed that Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune disorder, a condition in which the immune system will attack the body’s own cells. This is due to complications in Helper T-Cells, which facilitate the actions of the immune system and notifies it of invaders in the body. MS is classified as a common, complex disease – a disease caused by interactions between behavioural, environmental, genetic, and lifestyle factors. Quite a few diseases fall into this category, especially those with no cure, like Cancer, Diabetes, and Stroke.
Multiple Sclerosis is a multifocal demyelinating disease with progressive neurodegeneration caused by an autoimmune response to self-antigens in a genetically susceptible individual (Nylander, 2012). Or, as Brigid Brophy said it, “…the chief curse of the illness...I must ask constant services of people I love most closely...it is an illness accompanied by frustration...it is an illness that inflicts awareness of loss...sporadically it is, in its manifestations, a disgusting disease” (Compston, 2008). There are approximately 2.5 million cases of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the world and less than 400,000 cases in the United States. There are four types of MS. The highest occurring is relapsing-remitting MS, RRMS. RRMS is characterized by clearly defined attacks of worsening neurological function. The attacks are followed by recovery periods where symptoms improve partially or completely. Secondary-progressive MS, SPMS, follows the RRMS course, however in worsening condition. Many people diagnosed with RRMS eventually
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders constantly leading to perpetual disability in young adults. Accounting for more than 40,000 affected individuals in Egypt alone (Tallawy et al., 2016), and 2.5 million patients worldwide.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It most commonly occurs in individuals between the ages of twenty and forty (1) and in higher numbers of women than men (2). In Multiple Sclerosis (or "MS") a loss of the nerves' axon coating myelin prohibits the nerve axons from efficiently conducting action and synaptic potentials. Scar tissue (called plaques or lesions) forms at the points where demyelination occurs in the brain and spinal cord, hence the name "Multiple Sclerosis"or "many scars" (3). The demyelination found in MS is thought to be caused by an autoimmune process, in which the body's immune system attacks its own healthy tissue (4). Other diseases thought to have an autoimmune basis are
MS is characterized by the destruction of myelin, inflammation in the CNS and the formation of lesions in the CNS.
For many people, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a frightening disease. Imagine waking up one morning and discovering you are totally blind in one eye. This issue usually resolves itself, but your doctor says it could be MS. Although scientists don’t know what causes multiple sclerosis, there is a growing amount of information on how to live with this medical condition.