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Multiple Sclerosis Essay

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Multiple Sclerosis

(1) One third of a million Americans suffer from MS and a great percentage of those people are women. Women account for 73% of MS sufferers. (2) MS usually strikes young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. (8) There are even some cases of MS being diagnosed in childhood.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects the central nervous system, attacking the brain and the spinal cord. MS attacks myelin, the fatty material that acts as a protective coating to the body's nerves. (1) The inflammation of the nerve tissues covering the nerves can affect any part of the nervous system and varies from person to person. (7) Normal nerve function decreases with the onset of MS because MS causes scars to form on …show more content…

Therefore, what causes MS? What causes the nerves of the bodies of MS patients to obtain scarring? Why do people get MS? The cause of MS is not known. But is said not to be hereditary. The body's immune system usually defends it from bacteria, but in the case of MS the immune system is attacking the myelin. (1) This attack is adverse to the purpose of the immune system and the cause is attributed to different theories. The one theory is that there is a virus dormant in the body that may be a factor in the development of MS and alters the immune system's responsibility. (1)

Then there is the theory that common diseases or STD's trigger MS and this initiates the migration of white blood cells to enter the brain. Once in the brain these white blood cells activate certain parts of the immune system and thus the immune system begins to attack the myelin that surrounds the nerve. (1) There is another theory that the scarring of the myelin of the nerve is caused by oxidation injury. (3) Oxidation injury is seemingly caused by unstable molecules named free radicals. These free radicals supposedly take electrons from healthy molecules they find in the myelin. These free radicals are also said to occur when the body has been exposed to toxic chemicals. (5) Free radicals are described as punching holes in the cellular walls of our bodies. There is another theory that researchers of MS present. The

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