Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord, known as the central nervous system. The protective coating that surrounds nerve fibers is attacked by the body’s immune system, resulting in scars called lesions or plaques.
This damage affects the ability of electrical signals to travel along nerve fibers to and from the brain. The damage causes symptoms that can vary widely depending on which area of the body is affected, and the extent of damage caused.
Scientists do not yet know what triggers the immune system to attack the brain and spinal cord in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). It is thought that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may play a role.
The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation estimate that around 2.3 million people worldwide have MS, which typically develops between the ages of 20 and 40 years.
MS is one of the most common disorders to affect the brain and spinal cord in adults. However, it can also develop in younger and older people. MS is also up to three times more common in women than men, although researchers do not yet know why.
Because MS is such a complex disease, there is no particular set of symptoms associated with the development of the disorder. Indeed, one person with the disorder may have a completely different set of symptoms to another. Nevertheless, some symptoms are more common than others.
The most common symptoms associated with MS include:
- Fatigue
- Pain
- Weakness
- Balance problems and dizziness
- Stiffness and muscle spasms
- Numbness and tingling sensations in the muscles
- Vision problems
- Poor bladder and bowel control
- Memory and attention problems
- Mood swings, depression, and other emotional changes
- Sexual problems
Of these, the most common first symptoms are numbness and tingling sensations in the arms, legs or face, weakness or poor control of an arm or leg, and partial vision loss or pain in one eye.
People with MS will start to experience such symptoms when damage to the coating of nerve fibers becomes severe enough to disrupt the nerve’s ability to send signals.
Less common symptoms include:
- Speech difficulties
- Tremors
- Breathing difficulties
- Swallowing problems
- Seizures
- Hearing loss
- Itching
No comments:
Post a Comment