Multiple Sclerosis: symptoms,causes, and treatment

What is multiple sclerosis?

MS is a disease which chronically affects and damages spinal and cranial nerves as well as the optic nerves. Sclerosis refers to scarring .so, It is named “Multiple sclerosis” because people with MS develop multiple areas of scar tissue responding to the nerve damage. Symptoms vary according to the place where the damage occurs but they may include problems with balance, vision, speech, and muscle control.

People with MS may suffer from weakness in an arm or leg, Numbness, muscle spasms and loss of balance due to the nerve damage. All of these symptoms may interfere with their ability to walk frequently.

Optic neuritis is the medical condition which more than half of people with MS experience which refers to vision problems. As the inflammation of the optic nerve may result in blurred vision, loss of color vision, pain in the eyes, and can lead to blindness usually in one eye. But fortunately, these vision problems are temporary and can be improved within a few weeks. And vision problems may be the first sign of MS in many cases.

Not only vision problems but also people with MS may suffer from problems in speech called slurred speech, but although it is less than vision problems but people with MS may develop slurred speech and it occurs due to the damage of nerves that carry speech signals from the brain. They may develop problems in swallowing as well.

Although the aforementioned symptoms that people of MS may develop such as: problems with vision, speech, swallowing, weakness, numbness, and muscle spasms. But there are other problems that people with MS may suffer from. Basically these problems affect their mental sharpness resulting in its weakness but its intensity and reverse depends and differs from one person to another. But generally, MS may cause mild memory loss, diminishment of concentration. They may experience also some troubles with bladder control, because of the interruption of signals between the brain and bladder. Commonly, people with MS suffer from fatigue and they may feel tired despite their good night’s sleep.



But everyone should know that those MS symptoms can be considered also signs for stroke, so anyone feels weakness of his leg or arm, numbness, vision problems, slurred speech should immediately go to hospital because the time is a crucial factor of speedy recovery without long-term consequences.

How MS Attacks
But now let’s get deeper and explain what is mechanism of MS and how does it attack the body. In different diseases it is known and common that the cause comes from outside in the form of bacteria, viruses, but Multiple sclerosis is quite different because it is similar to the mechanism of autoimmune disease in which the body attacks himself. In the MS diseased body, the immune system starts to attack the tissue that surrounds the nerve fibers in the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerves. In other words the immune system attacks the myelin tissue which is the fatty substance that insulates the nerve fibers and assist them send electrical signals along the nerves that control especially movement, speech, vision, and other functions. Thereby, if the myelin tissue destroyed it results in the scar tissue and impairment in nerve functions because of the interruption of messages transmitted along the damaged nerves.

When we go through the causes of MS and what makes the body attacks himself we are going to mysterious journey because the causes of MS still theories. Some research studies showed that there are a link between Vitamin D deficiency and the likelihood of development MS. As studies stated that most of MS develops in the regions which are much far from the equator in areas like: Scandinavia and other parts of Northern Europe, as people live there get less sunlight. Although the studies are ongoing but researchers believe that there are a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and autoimmune disorders. They also think that genetics may play a role in development of MS disease.

Who Gets MS?
MS disease is biased towards women because it at least twice as common in women as it is in men. MS is not restricted with certain race but Caucasians appear to be most at risk and also it not restricted with age as it develops in people aged 20 to 50 years old.

How Does MS Progress?
There are diverse four forms of MS progress process which doctors see in different patients.

Relapsing-remitting: Symptoms flare during acute attacks, then improve nearly completely or "remit." This is the most common form of MS.

Primary-progressive: MS slowly but steadily worsens.

Secondary-progressive: Begins as relapsing-remitting type, then becomes progressive.

Progressive-relapsing: The underlying disease steadily worsens. The patient has acute relapses, which may or may not remit. This is the least common form of MS.

Treating MS: Medications
Unfortunately, multiple sclerosis is incurable but there are “disease-modifying drugs” which are chemical drugs that help lessen the severity and frequency of the MS attacks. These drugs usage may decrease the damage of the brain and spinal cord overtime, and they can slow the progression of the disability. When an attack does occur, high-dose corticosteroids can help cut it short. As well as there are other drugs that can treat to manage the problematic symptoms of that MS cause such as : muscle spasms, pain, and incontinence.