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Immune Complicated Disease: Multiple Sclerosis

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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

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