Information on Multiple Sclerosis

QUESTION: Although I scan most health columns, I find little to read about
Multiple Sclerosis. Since we now face the need to deal with this disease, we
are filled with the need for more information to help us cope with the
situation. I am sure you could help us if you will only write something about
this condition.
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ANSWER: Information is our most precious ally when facing an unknown
situation or problem, and we will start with this answer for you. According
to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, more than 250,000 Americans
currently suffer with multiple sclerosis (MS). One of the tragedies of this
affliction is that it strikes at the young, with most patients being diagnosed
between the ages of 15 to forty, although it can strike people as young as 2
or as old as 60. Women are the victims twice as frequently as men and come
down with the disease at an earlier age. We know some important facts about
MS. It is not an infectious disease and so is not contagious, but probably is
due to an abnormality in the body's immune mechanisms. There is an inherited
predisposition to the disease though, and we see it more commonly in children
of MS sufferers. Finally the disease is not fatal, and patients may lead long
constructive lives. MS is a disease of the central nervous system, where it
attacks the white matter, known as myelin, which sheathes or wraps the nerve
fibers like a type of insulation. When the myelin is destroyed, plaques or
scars develop, and the nerve signals that normally pass along the nerve fibers
are stopped. This creates the symptoms of weakness in the muscles, changes in
feeling with numbness or tingling, double vision, dizziness or
lightheadedness, and many other disturbing symptoms which depend upon the area
of damage in the nervous system. The symptoms may come and go (remission)
only to return again. While there is no specific treatment, many are
currently used with some effect, and more are being developed. Cortisone-like
substances are frequently used during acute attacks.