These Are My Facts About Multiple Sclerosis!

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Symptoms range from blurriness of vision, numbness and slurred speech all the way through paralysis and blindness.

MS is not contagious

Multiple sclerosis is a disease which randomly affects the nervous system, wearing away the control you have over your body.

Multiple Sclerosis is very unpredictable. "The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of the disease can't be forseen" You never know how long, when, or how severe attacks are".

200 people contract MS every week.

MS is rarely fatal.

MS is uncurable.

Symptoms for MS may be from slight burning of vision to paralasys.

There are 5 clinics for MS in Massachusetts

A third of a million Americans has MS.

Symptoms not only vary greatly from person to person but may also vary from time to time in the same person.

The most typical pattern of MS is marked by periods of active disease or attacks, called exacerbations or relapses, followed by quiet periods called remissions.

Some people have few attacks and little if any disability over time. Others have what is called "relapsing-remitting" disease. This means they have exacerbations, which take place unpredictably, followed by periods of partial or total remission, which may last months, or even years. Still others experience a "primary-progressive" disease course with steadily worsening symptoms and no attacks or remissions. Thus, the disease ranges from very mild to intermittent to steadily progressive.

Because MS affects individuals so differently, it is difficult to make generalizations about the extent of disability any one person may sustain.

Statistics suggest that two out of three people with MS remain ambulatory over their lifetimes, but many of them will need a cane or other assistive device.

Occasionally, there may be mental changes such as forgetfulness or confusion, and, rarely, people have seizures.

These symptoms may occur in any combination, may come and go, and may vary from very mild to very severe.

Our bodies contain a fatty substance called myelin which surrounds and protects nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) similar to insulation protecting electrical wires.

Symptoms of MS vary greatly. They may include tingling sensations, numbness, slurred speech, dizziness, blurred or double vision, muscle weakness, poor coordination, tremor, unusual fatigue, muscle tightness or spasticity, problems with bladder, or bowel, and paralysis.

In MS, there is a breakdown in the myelin sheathing.

When any part of this myelin sheathing is destroyed, nerve impulses to and from the brain are distorted or interrupted.

The result is multiple sclerosis, or MS--multiple because many areas of the brain and spinal cord are affected; sclerosis because "scleroses" or hardened patches of scar tissue may form over the damaged myelin.

Ms most often strikes people who are in their twenties or thirties--young adults who are just starting their lives. Women develop it at a rate more than double that of men.

The disease is most frequently found among people in colder climates. Scientists don't understand why this is so, but studies strongly suggest that where a person was born and lived during his or her first fifteen years strongly influences the likelihood of developing MS.

Studies also indicate that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible to the disease.