Produced by O2 Media, Inc for the Balancing Act TV show
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
Tingling numbness, blurry vision, weakness, dizziness and other strange and new symptoms.
These symptoms are common for everyone in society, but are also common in people with MS (Multiple Sclerosis).
MS is a lifetime autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). In an intact immune system, our bodies’ natural defenses (specialized cells and proteins) protect us from external intruders (bacteria, viruses etc.). Sometimes the body’s immune army gets confused and attacks itself; this kind of disease is called autoimmune. Other examples of autoimmune disease, affecting other parts of the body are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, childhood diabetes and others. What makes MS different is that instead of the body attacking the joints or skin or intestines, in MS the body attacks the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord.
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the nerves themselves (axons) and the covering of these nerves (myelin), in addition to supporting cells (such as atrocytes and the nerves that produce myelin, oligodendrocytes). In MS, the misdirected immune cells (called T-cells and B-cells) attack the myelin and even the axons themselves. Damage to the CNS causes a variety of symptoms. The reason why almost any symptom can be found in MS, is that the CNS controls most bodily functions. For example, damage to the part of the brain that controls the arm, can lead to arm weakness; damage to the optic nerves may lead to visual blurring.
Although MS may sound scary, the damage caused by the immune cells is often only temporary. Unlike in a stroke, where a portion of the brain is starved of blood and oxygen, in MS the symptoms often come and go. This means that people with MS may go through relapses of symptoms, followed by remissions, when neurological function improves. The most common form of MS, affecting 85% of those diagnosed with it, is called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Some people with RRMS progress from having ups and downs (remissions and relapses) to secondary progressive MS (SPMS); people with SPMS have a slow progression of symptoms, but may still have relapses as well. In 15% of people with MS, there are no periods of improvement, and instead there is a gradual decline in neurological functioning; since the MS primarily starts out as progressive, this form of MS is called primary progressive MS (PPMS). There is a much more rare cause of MS, called progressive relapsing MS (PRMS); PRMS is characterized by neurological symptoms that progress from the onset, with episodic relapses.
Although MS has been around for centuries (the first person that we think had MS was Saint Lidwina of Schiedam, 1380 – 1433), our understanding of the causes, and especially, treatment of MS has advanced dramatically in the past twenty years. Prior to 1993, there were no FDA (Food and Drug Administration) treatments for MS, but as of April 2011, there are seven disease modifying agents for relapsing MS (two forms of interferon beta-1b, two forms of interferon beta-1a, glatiramer acetate, natalizumab and fingolimod) and one for SPMS, PRMS and worsening RRMS (mitoxantrone). The landscape of future treatments is rapidly expanding, and there are multiple medications in different stages of development. The future of MS is very hopeful because of the extensive amount of exciting international research aimed at deciphering the genetic and environmental causes of MS, as well as potential avenues for treatment.