Multiple Sclerosis Essay -- essays research papers

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease of the central nervous system. The central nervous system is do up of the brain and spinal cord. Both have nerve fibers that are wrapped in a myelin sheath. In MS, the myelin sheath becomes exasperate and gradually is destroyed. With the destruction of the myelin sheath comes an array of symptoms that may include numbness or tingling, balance problems, weakness, muscle spasms, and blurred vision. Anyone can pose MS, besides many patients share the following characteristics. The majority experiences their first symptoms between ages 20 and 40. Caucasians are more than twice as likely as other races to develop MS. MS is two to three times more common in women as in men. MS is five times more common in temperate climates like those of the northern US, Canada, and Europe. And people whose close relatives have MS are more susceptible to developing the disease, but there is no secernate the disease is directly inherited.No single test detects M S, which makes it difficult to diagnose. Symptoms can mimic those of a number of other conditions and they can change depending on the line of business of the central nervous system that loses myelin. Some symptoms of MS are numbness or tingling in parts of the body, usually an arm or leg, undetermined weakness, dizziness, and fatigue, and blurry vision, double vision or blindness.To diagnose the disease, healthcare providers...