Personal Essay: The Autobiography Of Xavier Brown

Multiple Sclerosis - “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is different for everyone. You can get symptoms in many parts of your body. MS is a neurological condition. That means it affects your nerves. It's caused when your immune system isn’t working properly.” (Mssociety.org.uk, 2017)

One important thing to know about multiple sclerosis is that there are many different types. There are four, vaguely defined, types of MS: Relapsing- remitting, Primary-progressive, Secondary-progressive, and Progressive- relapsing (Dangond). Relapsing-remitting MS, most common, is when patients experience a series of attacks followed by the disappearance of symptoms. So, in this type, multiple sclerosis attacks and then goes in to remission until another attack occurs. Its alternates back and forth. Primary-progressive MS is when there is a continuous decline in a person’s physical abilities. Secondary-progressive is when relapses are rare but the patient accumulates more disability (Dangond). Lastly, we have progressive-relapsing which is the more complex type. It is very similar to primary-progressive MS but it includes small periods where the symptoms and disease become worse (Blackstone).

Multiple Sclerosis is caused by chromosome 6. It is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. Symptoms of this disorder include numbness or weakness in one or more limbs typically on one side of the body or the legs, partial or complete loss of vision, tingling or pain in parts of your body, slurred speech, and dizziness.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurologic disease that affects the Central Nervous System (CNS) through cellular immune response and the demyelination of CNS white matter (McCance et al., 2014, pp. 630–633). The initial causes of MS are unknown however, it is believed that it could possibly be due to an immune response to an initiating infection or an autoimmune response to CNS antigens on the myelin itself (Brück, 2005) (Miljković and Spasojević, 2013). MS is a result of the degradation of the myelin sheath surrounding neurons and therefore disrupts the transmission of action potentials along these cells. MS can display itself in the form of symptoms ranging from muscle weakness to trouble with sensation and coordination (NHS, 2016). The degradation of myelin leads the body to attempt to remyelinate the neurons, a process that in turn leads to the thickening of the cell by glial cells and this causes lesions to form (Chari, 2007). It is this thickening (sclerae) from which the disease gets its name. Sufferers of MS can either have a relapsing type of MS, in which there are episodes that lead to the worsening of symptoms for a period of time, or a progressive type of MS where symptoms gradually progress and worsen (McCance et al., 2014, pp. 630–633).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive neurological disease affecting all aspects of life: physical, cognitive, emotional, and social (Abma). It is known as an autoimmune disease, Where the body’s immune system turns against the body and destroys the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. This damage to the nerve cells causes many problems for the patient including weakness, muscle stiffness, poor coordination and balance, tingling, numbness, tremors, blurred vision, slurred speech, and memory and concentration problems (Bren)

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. MS affects approximately 3.0 million people globally, with about 300,000 cases in the United States. Twice as many women as men have MS. The average ages for onset of MS is 20-40 years. In MS, cells in the immune system attack and destroy myelin, the fatty tissue surrounding nerve cells (http://www.phylomed.com/MS.html). Scar tissue replaces the myelin, interfering with the transmission of nerve signals and leading to numbness, fatigue, spasticity, loss of muscle control, and various other debilitating symptoms. There are four broad theories

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease of the central nervous system. The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord. Both have nerve fibers that are wrapped in a myelin sheath. In MS, the myelin sheath becomes inflamed and gradually is destroyed. With the destruction of the myelin sheath comes an array of symptoms that may include numbness or tingling, balance problems, weakness, muscle spasms, and blurred vision.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. The myelinated nerve cells get attacked which results in scars and lesions that destroy the myelin sheath. The reason for the body attacking its own nerve cells is unknown. Many believe that the cause of MS is from a virus, a deficiency in Vitamin D, or genetics. Studies are being done to find out what is the real cause of MS.

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.

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, crippling neurological disease of the central nervous system, which affects the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. The name is this disease refers to multiple areas of scarring throughout the brain and spinal cord. This scarring is a result of what happens when the body attacks itself. A substance called Myelin surrounds the nerves to help protect them (Healthline.com, 2015). Multiple Sclerosis is thought to occur in a genetically susceptible individual (although there is no evidence to show that the disease is directly inherited) influenced one or more environmental factors. MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease, however others disagree as the target of the immune

Thus, the most common symptoms of multiple sclerosis are anxiety, balance, bladder dysfunction, bowel problems, cognitive changes, depression, vertigo, fatigue, pain, numbness, sexual dysfunction, and tremor. (MSAA)This can obviously cause a slew of complications that make day to day living and quality of live difficult to achieve as this disease progress. In severe cases some individuals will lose the ability to walk. (Mayo Clinic)

Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. Multiple Sclerosis causes many effects on the body including vision loss, pain, fatigue and impaired coordination. The symptoms, severity and duration can vary constantly.

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder which is characterized by multiple areas of scarring to nerve fibers of the CNS. It often affects people between 20 to 40 years. Currently there are about 1.1 million people suffering from multiple sclerosis. Like most of the autoimmune diseases females are more affected than males in this disease. Multiple Sclerosis effects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The disease commences with a discrete attack known as CIS (clinically isolated syndrome), which may attack any area of the CNS but mostly attacks either the brain stem, optic nerve or spinal cord.

It affects everyone differently, because the severity and types of MS differ from person to person. The exact cause of MS is still unknown. The signs and symptoms of MS are blurred or double vision, thinking problems, clumsiness or lack of coordination, loss of balance, numbness, tingling, and weakness in an arm or leg. In order to determine if it is really MS, a medical doctor most likely a neurologist will perform several tests to diagnose it. A neurological exam will check for reduced nerve function, an eye exam will check for distortions in the inner eye and response times, a spinal tap will involve taking a sample of spinal fluid which will be removed with a long needle and go to be tested. There is no treatment for MS. Treatment typically focuses on speedy recovery from attacks, slowing the progression of the disease and managing MS symptoms. Some people have such mild symptoms that treatment is not required. Treatments for MS attacks are corticosteroids, such as oral prednisone and intravenous methylprednisolone, are prescribed to reduce nerve

Visual, motor, and sensory problems are the most common. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis are loss of sensitivity, changes in sensation such as tingling, needles or numbness, muscle weakness, pronounced reflexes, muscle spasms, and difficulty in moving and coordination & balance depending on where the lesions are. Multiple Sclerosis causes in unknown; but its believed to be some combination of environmental factors of infectious agents and genetics. Infectious agents such as microbes can trigger Multiple Sclerosis. The main three characteristics of Multiple Sclerosis are lesions of the Central Nervous System, inflammation and destruction of myelin sheath of the neurons. Demyelination is another sign of inflammation of the disease. Attacks start at the inflammatory process then it triggers the immune cells and releases soluble factors of cytokines and destructive proteins. The Tcells prevents entry of infections into the Central Nervous System By an infectious virus. Multiple Sclerosis is diagnosed by signs and symptoms in which medical and laboratory testing takes place It’s sometimes difficult to confirm that a person have