Multiple Sclerosis By: Sandra Bachaalany MIM Virtual Camp Project

What Is Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple sclerosis or MS is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control, vision, balance, and numb sensation. With MS, the nerves of the brain and spinal cord are damaged by one's own immune system. Thus, the condition is called an autoimmune disease.

So What Causes MS? Exposure to some environmental agent encountered before puberty may lead a person to MS. A combination of genetics and something in the environment to which the person was exposed to early in life. MS is a disease of temperate climates. In both hemispheres, its prevalence increases with distance from the equator.

What Are The Systems? Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis vary from person to person and can change over time in the same person. The most common early symptoms include: Muscle weakness Decreased coordination Blurred or hazy vision Eye pain Double vision As the disease progresses, symptoms may include muscle stiffness, pain, difficulty controlling urination, or problems with cognition.

Treatments Although there is still no cure for MS, effective strategies are available to modify the disease course. There’s hope for MS, with several drugs that can help slow the disease. Medications used to treat MS There is surgical procedure is effective in controlling tremors, but it has risks.

Frequency As of 2008, between 2 and 2.5 million people are affected globally with rates varying widely in different regions of the world and among different populations. The disease usually begins between the ages of 20 and 50 and is twice as common in women as in men. The name multiple sclerosis refers to scars particularly in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord.

Multiple Sclerosis is obviously close to my heart and I'm determined to make a difference in the lives of people who suffer from the disease by raising the profile of MS, as well as raising funds for advocacy and research. -Ann Romney