Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the protective sheath around the nerve wires that carry messages in the spinal cord and brain. The spinal cord carries information communication between the central nervous system and organs. Physical damage to the myelin leads to MS. Where the sheath is damaged, there are hardened tissues. This hardened area is called a plaque. Plaques can form in multiple locations within the nervous system and can block the transmission of messages along the nerves.
Causes of MS
Although there are many different theories about the cause of MS, it has not yet been definitively identified. Although various researches have been conducted on the disease, it can be said that none of them can be identified as a definitive cause when the various causes that may cause the disease are examined.
According to some researchers, the cause of MS is claimed to be a virus that has not yet been identified. Some researchers suggest that MS is caused by a virus that has not yet been identified. According to this theory, this virus, which enters the body in childhood or adolescence, stays in the body for five, ten or fifteen years without showing any symptoms, and then, for an unknown reason, for example during a severe upper respiratory illness.
Another group of scientists believe that it is an auto-immune disease (caused by the body's own immune system). According to this theory, the body's immune system should normally attack and fight against foreign microbes or viruses that enter the body to protect it, but for some unknown reason in people with MS, it attacks and destroys the myelin sheath of nerves in the central nervous system.
It is also conceivable that all of these theories interact together. In other words, in genetically predisposed individuals, an unknown MS-related virus may negatively stimulate the body's immune system to attack and destroy the myelin sheath of nerves.
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
Symptoms appear within a few days, with exacerbations and remissions. In the initial stages, there is a complete recovery, while a small number of patients may experience worsening without improvement from the beginning.
The symptoms of MS may vary according to the severity and course of the disease. In some patients, different disease manifestations occur in succession, followed by complete or partial recovery. Symptoms differ depending on the area of the nervous system affected.
These include weakness, tingling, numbness, lack of sensation, impaired balance, double vision, decreased vision, slurred speech, tremors, stiffness in the limbs, weakness, incontinence or inability to urinate, decreased sexual potency in men. One or more of the symptoms described may be present together.
Who gets it?
MS is not a fatal disease. There are many studies on the subject. These studies have shown that there is no significant difference in life expectancy between people with MS and healthy individuals. MS is also not a contagious disease.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the leading cause of neurological disability in young people. The disease is usually seen in young people, women, in societies with high socio-economic status, and in people with a high level of education living in urban areas.
People with MS are less able to resist infectious diseases due to the effects of certain medications they take for treatment. For this reason, patients are more prone to respiratory tract infections and urinary tract infections than other people.
MS is not a disease of the mind or spirit, but is medically recognized as a disease of the nervous system.
MS is not a hereditary disease. People with a family history of MS have a slight tendency to develop MS.
