About multiple sclerosis

What is MS?

Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system disease that disrupts the information flow within the brain and between the brain and the body. The exact cause of this disease is still unknown, but it’s believed that it is triggered by some environmental factor in a person who is genetically predisposed to respond. In mild cases, MS involves numbness in the limbs, but in severe cases, one may become paralyzed or lose the vision.

In the central nervous system, nerve fibres are protected by the myelin sheath, which also helps the nerves to conduct electrical signals efficiently. When one is diagnosed with MS, his myelin sheet disappears in multiple areas, leaving a scar. Multiple sclerosis literally means multiple scar tissues.

Even though MS is a complicated disease to deal with, statistics have shown that people suffering from it live only 5 to 10 years less than the average person. However, it is difficult to give precise research results about this issue, because even though the actual number of deaths of people diagnosed with MS increased, many of them died from other factors excluded of the actual disease.

Women are twice more likely to suffer from multiple sclerosis than men. This disease usually affects population between 20 and 50 years old.

Statistics have also shown that there is a connection between the places of residence (the distance of the state from the equator) and the risk of this disease. Namely, residents of countries that are far from the equator have a greater chance of illness. Bearing this in mind, scientists have concluded that there is a link between the amount of vitamin D produced under the influence of sunlight and the risk of this disease. In countries that have less sunshine, there is a larger number of diseased.