MS Causes: How Multiple Sclerosis Affects the Body

When doctors are asked what causes multiple sclerosis, and how this condition affects the body, they will almost always certainly address the second part of the question first. This scenario was true when my friend posed this question to their family doctor after her twenty-two-year old son was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Their doctor explained that in order to determine the possible causes of multiple sclerosis, the way this condition affects the body should first be considered.

The above scenario was, of course, preluded by a detailed medical explanation of what multiple sclerosis is. This disease, which is noted for progressing at a slow pace, involves mainly the central nervous system and its different parts. It presents a number of symptoms which tend to occur, disappear, and then reappear in a more severe degree. In usual cases, the symptoms occur between the ages twenty and forty. Multiple sclerosis affects women and men about equally. As this disease progresses very slowly, patients live out a normal life span, and when they die it's usually because of some other causes. But in worse cases, multiple sclerosis can progress to a fatal consequence within a period of ten years or even less; my friend is fervently hoping this won't be the case for her son. It's been almost two years since her son was diagnosed of having multiple sclerosis, and my friend is doing everything humanly possible - with the help of medical science, of course - to make her son live out a normal life span.

Going back to that second part of the original question, multiple sclerosis primarily affects the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. This restricts, or even ruins, the nerves' ability to swap signals with outlying organs and tissues, including the eyes or the muscles of the limbs. The nerves can be likened to electric wires in their carrying out of their function. To be specific, the signals transmitted by the nerves move in a way similar to how an electric current travels. The similarity between the nerves and electric wires continues in that while the latter is encased in plastic insulation, the former is sheathed in myelin - a soft white, fatty material that acts as an insulating substance. In multiple sclerosis, patches of this substance get damaged along the nerve paths, making the signals in the affected nerves travel more slowly and move more weakly. In cases when too much myelin is destroyed, the signals may not travel at all. Consequently, the organs and tissues with which the particular nerves coordinate cease to function in the normal way they should.

Having said these facts, the doctor proceeded in expounding the possible cause or causes of multiple sclerosis. Three possibilities are pointed to as suspects in the destruction of patches of myelin sheath. The first is a slow-acting virus that penetrates the body at an early age, but doesn't assail the myelin until the affected person is in the ages of between twenty and forty. The second is an impairment in the immune system of the person that, instead of the immune system working against viruses and bacteria (its normal targets), it turns against the body's own myelin. The third and last suspect is a combination of the first two.

Taking advantage of the doctor's patient elucidating of facts, we learned that the symptoms of multiple sclerosis differ from case to case, and vary from time to time in the same case. Inattention, unwarranted depression, reduced emotional control, and lack of judgment are some of the mental symptoms. Some of the more common symptoms include scanning speech or difficulty in talking, lack of coordination, tremors, and episodes of double vision or even partial loss of vision in worse cases.

Of all the facts stated by the doctor about multiple sclerosis, this one seems to be the most difficult to take: no cure is known for this disease. Of course, some things or steps can be done to alleviate the patient's condition. For example, family members or relatives should exert effort in helping the patient live as nearly a normal life as possible. It is advised that the patient engage in light to moderate activities only (consistent with his mental and physical condition) and avoid fatigue. Certain physical therapies can help prevent disfigurement of debilitated or paralyzed body parts. [Read the Original Article]