Live Life Team
Multiple sclerosis or MS affects at least 85000 people in UK. This is not a rare condition of neurology amongst adults. Symptoms of MS can be seen between 40 to 20 years, however it can occur at any age. Women are more prone to MS than men.
MS affects the central nervous system, The nerve fibre is surrounded by myelin. This myelin transfers messages from brain to the body. Multiple sclerosis disturbs the function of myelin by damaging it.
Primary progressive MS, secondary progressive MS, relapsing remitting MS and benign MS are four types of MS. Symptoms of MS are unpredictable and many, different symptoms can occur to each person. Few problems are: muscle tightness, muscle spasms, pain, balance and mobility. The cause of MS is not yet determined, however it is understood that it can be a combination of environmental and genetically. There are no cure for this condition but studies are on for the same. Treatments are available for MS which eases the symptoms like physiotherapy and medication. This is not a fatal condition by can stay for live.
Causes
Multiple Sclerosis affects the central nervous system which consists of spinal cord and brain, controls all the actions of the body. When action is performed, the brain send a message via nerve fibre in the spinal cord to the right part of the body, the nerve fibre is surrounded by myelin. This myelin transfers messages from brain to the body. Multiple sclerosis disturbs the function of myelin by damaging it.
Multiple Sclerosis is a autoimmune condition, that means the immune system in the body attacks the myelin accidentally thinking it to be a foreign agent. This is called as demyelination. Damaged myelin develops scars called plaques or lesions. Demyelination disturbs traveling of messages along the nerve fibres by stopping then from get through, sending them to different nerve, jumbling and slowing down. Over a period of time myelin can be broken completely & nerve fibres can get damaged. Progressive forms of MS are caused due to this nerve fibre damage where the symptoms worsens slowly.
Why do people develop multiple sclerosis,
MS occurs as autoimmune response, what needs to be understood is the cause of autoimmune response. Most probably it is caused by environmental and genetic factors.
Possible causes of MS are detailed below.
Genetic factors
There is no one gene that causes it, therefore MS is not a defined as genetic condition. People related to anyone having MS are more likely to develop it. There are only 2% chances for a child to inherit MS from parents. Chances are narrow for MS to develop in family more than once. It can be possible with combination of gene for which studies are being carried out.
Environmental factors
Countries like Scandinavia, North America and UK which are far from the equator, have a higher chance to develop MS as compared to Ecuador and Malaysia where MS is very rare condition. MS could be caused by bacteria that thrive in cold weather, however no bacteria is identified yet. There also theories suggesting that any childhood infection disturbing immune system may later be a cause to develop MS.
