Essay about Multiple Sclerosis

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MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative inflammatory disease that destroys the myelin sheath which covers and insulates the nerve fibers and allows the currents to flow faster.
When the myelin sheath is destroyed (demyelination), lesions ( spots where tissue has been damaged) appear, at different times, along the spinal cord and in different parts of the brain.
The first type/stage of MS that occurs is clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). CIS is one episode of brain symptoms which suggests MS. After having an MRI, a doctor may find a piece of the brain and/or spinal cord that shows a deformity. If multiple episodes appear then relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) is what you are diagnosed with .
RRMS is defined as having multiple relapses/episodes when occurring symptoms worsen and/or new ones appear. Between relapses, the symptoms are either complete or nearly complete and back to where it was before the relapses occurred.
The next type/stage of MS is secondary progressive MS (SPMS) which comes after the diagnosis of RRMS. After some time the relapse-remissions slow down and the disease starts to steadily increase, sometimes decreasing then going back up again. About 50% of people who have RRMS start to worsen after 10-20 years, often with the effect of disability.
Primary-progressive MS (PPMS) is another type of MS. It is the slow increase of disability; there are no definite relapses in this type. It may stay the same for a period of time and some improvement may occur but there aren’t any times of remission. Around 10% of people that have MS have PPMS.
Progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS) is the most uncommon type of MS; only about 5% of people that have MS are diagnosed with it. Those that do have it experience relapses without any remissions and slowly the disease gets worse and worse.
There are many different symptoms of MS; in the brain, there is dizziness, vertigo
(sensation of whirling or loss of balance), depression, tremors, seizures, mood/emotional

swings, uncontrollable laughter and/or crying, and paranoia. In the eyes you can experience double vision, serious blurring, and pain. In the mouth/tongue dryness, slurring, trouble chewing and swallowing may occur. In the limbs you may lose your hand-eye coordination, you can also get tingling, pin pricking sensations, and/or numbness, weakness, loss of balance, you may need to use canes or wheelchairs because of weakened muscles. People with MS are more likely to get osteoporosis which is a degenerative disease which weakens the bones and makes them more prone to fractures and breaks. Bladder dysfunctioning, constipation, diarrhea, loss of bladder and bowel control may also occur. In the circulatory and respiratory systems the following can occur, shallow breathing, low oxygen supply. Heart attack, heart stroke, and heart failure are at a higher risk in women.
In the symptoms that are mentioned, most of them are primary symptoms meaning that they are the symptoms directly involved with MS. Secondary symptoms occur when the primary ones are more extensive or severe. Treating the primary symptoms is only slowing down the progression of MS and trying to prevent attacks/episodes. When primary symptoms are not treated and the nerves are damaged, secondary symptoms occur. Secondary symptoms can be treated well but it is better to have the primary ones treated first so that all of the symptoms can be avoided, however some symptoms are inevitable.
The cause of MS has not been identified, although there are some speculations of what it may be, such as the immune system. Some medical professionals have decided that MS is an immune-mediated disease; which means that the immune system attacks the healthy nerve tissue therefore inflammation occurs which damages and affects the whole entire body.
Research has been done to see if stopping the immune system from attacking will slow down
MS, but when that
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