Multiple Sclerosis in General

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that has affects throughout the whole body.
• MS is perceived to be a autoimmune disease, but there may also be evidence to other causes of the disease.
• Occurs when the immune system attacks the fatty substance myelin, that surrounds nerve fibers in the nervous system.
• Some symptoms include numbness of the legs, loss of vision, fatigue, coordination problems, and bladder dysfunctions.
• MS approximately affects 400,000 people in the United States alone and more than 2.5 million people worldwide.
• The disease is two to three times more common in women than in men.
• The symptoms of the disease are generally the same, no matter what age or gender the person is.
  

Normal Function of Body Systems

Central Nervous System

• Consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• Receive, interpret, and send signals to the peripheral nervous system. The CNS may also store some messages for later use.
• A nerve fiber or axon, which is part of a neuron , is a long extension that carries electrical messages away from the cell body and passes them to other cells.
  
• The nerve fibers are coated or surrounded by what is called a myelin sheath. Myelin is a layer composed mostly of lipid with some protein that electrically insulate and protect the nerve fibers.
  
• The messages transmitted to the brain tell the body what to do.
  
• A normal central nervous system is necessary for the body to carry out the most simple and complex life functions.

Immune System

• This system protects the body from illness, and fights off infections and pathogens.
  
• The immune system finds the harmful cells and destroy it from the body.
  
• The system is a huge network of white blood cells.
• The immune system responds to different pathogens.
  
• Specific responses occur at a cellular level and a different for each pathogen.
• Nonspecific responses are those that happen in the same way to every pathogen.
  

Definition of Disease

• MS occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the substance myelin in the nervous system.
• Since myelin surrounds and protects the nerve fibers, when the system attacks it, the nerve system in the central nervous may be damaged as well.
  
• Although the cause of the actual destruction of myelin is still unknown, it is widely accepted that MS is an autoimmune disease with the contribution of other factors, such as genetics, infection, and environmental factors.
• When myelin is destroyed, the messages between the brain and spinal cord are either slowed or blocked completely.
• This interferes with the transmission of signals from the CNS and other parts of the body. The messages can be misinterpreted by the brain.
• These misinterpreted messages are what cause the symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis.
  

Treatment and Therapies

There is currenty no cure for multiple sclerosis, but its symptoms can be managed through therapy and medication.

Types of Therapies

• Physical Therapy: helps the body's movement and physical function. May include a number of exercises in order to prevent problems from immobility.
• Occupational Therapy: helps MS patients stay active in their daily lives. They are taught how to complete tasks with greater ease because of their condition.
• Speech and Swallowing Therapy: A speech therapist can treat swallowing problems by changing the diet of a patient, performing different exercises with the patient, or even positioning the patients head. A speech therapist helps with an overall better speech and verbal communication.

Drugs and Medications
Examples:

• Pentoxifylline is used to treat the pain associated with poor circulation.
  
• Fluoxetine is used for the treatment of depression without anxiety in MS patients.
• Mitoxantrone is used to treat Secondary Progressive MS or the worsening stage of MS.
  

Conclusion

Multiple sclerosis has a major impact on the human body.

• Has physical, mental, and emotional effects.
• Effects the central nervous system and immune system.
• Myelin and nerve fibers are damaged, which causes messages traveling to the brain to become misinterpreted.
• Misinterpreted messages cause the symptoms of MS.

There is still a lot unknown about multiple sclerosis.

• What is the cure for multiple sclerosis?
• What is the direct cause of multiple sclerosis?
• Is MS an autoimmune disease or does something else trigger the destruction of myelin?
  

References

All About Multiple Sclerosis (2008). Multiple sclerosis treatments. Retrieved August 9,
2009, from All About Multiple Sclerosis Web site:
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/mstreatments.html


All About Multiple Sclerosis (2008). The immune system and multiple sclerosis.
Retrieved August 9, 2009, from All About Multiple Sclerosis Web site:
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/immunesystem.html


eMedicineHealth (2009). The central nervous system and multiple sclerosis causes.
Retrieved August 9, 2009, from eMedicineHealth Web site:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/multiple_sclerosis/page2_em.htm


Goretti, B., Portaccio, E., Zipoli, V., Hakiki, B., Siracusa, G., Sorbi, S., Amato, M. (2009)
Coping strategies, psychological variables and their relationship with quality of life in
multiple sclerosis. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from PubMed Database:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/c2r363631173702j/fulltext.pdf


Healthline Networks Inc. (2009) Multiple sclerosis (MS): causes. Retrieved July 22,
2009, from Healthline Networks Web site:
http://www.healthline.com/channel/multiple-sclerosis-ms_causes


Mayo Clinic Staff (2009) Multiple sclerosis definition. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Web site:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/multiple-sclerosis/ds00188


Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (2009) What is multiple sclerosis. Retrieved
July 22, 2009, from Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Web site:
http://www.msassociation.org/about_multiple_sclerosis/whatisms/


National Multiple Sclerosis Society (2009). About ms. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Web site:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/index.aspx