Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system. Considering the fact that the disease involves dysfunctions at the level of the nervous system, multiple sclerosis can generate a wide spectrum of symptoms. In the absence of an appropriate medical treatment, multiple sclerosis can aggravate over the years, causing irreversible damage to the entire organism. Multiple sclerosis is mainly manifested through states of pronounced fatigue, body weakness, poorly coordinated movement of the body, poor balance and muscle pain, numbness, weakness or spasms. In later stages of the disease, multiple sclerosis can generate decreased vision, inaccurate and slow perceptions of external stimuli, mental confusion, poor concentration and even short-term memory loss. Another common feature to people who suffer from multiple sclerosis is depression. Statistics indicate that more than 75 percent of people affected by multiple sclerosis also suffer from depression.
As indicated by statistics, there are around 2 million people affected by multiple sclerosis worldwide, and their numbers are continuously rising. In the United States alone, there are around 350.000 reported cases of multiple sclerosis. For some reason, this form of neurological disease mostly affects young people. Multiple sclerosis has the highest prevalence in people with ages between 20 and 40, and the disease is rarely developed by people at more advanced stages of life. Another interesting aspect of multiple sclerosis is that it tends to affect mostly women. Although multiple sclerosis can also be developed by men, the disease is very common in women.
Multiple sclerosis involves an inflammatory process at the level of the nervous system, causing a destruction of myelin, a very important substance that surrounds the nervous cells of the body (neurons). Myelin has a vital role in the transmission of nervous impulses between neurons, establishing connections between the central nervous system and the rest of the body. When myelin is damaged, the transmission of electrical impulses between nervous cells is perturbed, considerably slowing down the body’s response to external stimuli. Destruction of myelin can lead to serious dysfunctions of the nervous system, causing various abnormal neuropsychological manifestations.
Multiple sclerosis is diagnosed upon various criteria. External manifestations of the disease are not sufficient in diagnosing patients with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, the process of diagnosing multiple sclerosis often involves analysis of the nervous cells’ integrity (especially the integrity of the myelin), blood tests and a careful examination of patients’ neurological manifestations.
Once patients are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, they are prescribed an appropriate medical treatment. Through the means of medical treatments, specific therapies and lifestyle changes, people who suffer from multiple sclerosis can gradually experience an amelioration of their symptoms. Appropriate diet, healthy sleep patterns and minimal stress conditions greatly contribute to an improvement of the overall condition of people with multiple sclerosis. If multiple sclerosis is timely discovered, the medications and therapies available today can overcome the damage caused at the level of the nervous system and patients with the disease can be successfully recovered from the disease.