Multiple Sclerosis

ABSTRACT

Multiple sclerosis is a nervous system complication that has triggered immense research practices and discussions lately. Unlike other disorders, the underlying cause, symptoms, course of the disease and even treatment are not entirely justified. The uniqueness of the disorder has contributed significantly towards the increased research studies that are essentially aimed at finding a substantial solution for addressing the issue. Multiple sclerosis has uneven geographical distribution and is more common in New Zealand, Canada, Europe, The United States, and some sections of Australia. However, the disorder is less common in the tropics regions as well as in Asia. In the United States alone, it is projected that people who have the disorder are approximately 400, 000 with 10, 000 new cases being registered every year.in addition to that, statistical data has proved that multiple sclerosis is more common in women compared to men. In fact, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis is believed to be 2-3 times more prone in females than in males. Also, multiple sclerosis is common in people with central and northern European decent as well as Caucasians. In contrast, cases of multiple sclerosis are not common amongst the Africans, Asians, and Hispanics. Nonetheless, unlike a couple of years ago, multiple sclerosis is currently increasing at an alarming rate with the disorder being commonly diagnosed from an approximate age of 30 years. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze different aspects about of the disease that are likely to be experienced during its course including types, symptoms, effects, and treatment measures.

DISCUSSION

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Multiple sclerosis is a typical life-long chronic disorder that primarily affects that nervous system of young adults. Despite the fact that the core cause of the disorder is still unknown, its effects trigger patches of plaques in the regions around the spinal cord and the brain. Some of the health complications that are associated with the disorder include; speech problems, poor coordination of the body, vision complications, difficulties in bladder control, poor strength amongst other complications that are likely to be caused by complications of the central nervous system. It is also worth to note that multiple sclerosis affects both men and women and that the severity of complications that it causes varies from one person to another. In addition to that, the severity of the disorder is also likely to vary from year to year amongst the victims. More importantly, the way multiple sclerosis is likely to begin, the course that it is likely to take and the complications that it is likely to trigger in individuals are primarily unpredictable.

There five common types of multiple sclerosis include:

1. Benign sensory that is usually associated with impaired vision as well as numbness of the body. 2. Benign exacerbating that is commonly associated with fluctuations before coming back to the baseline of the cause. 3. Chronic relapsing-progressive in which patients worsen up quickly prior to contracting the disorder. 4. Chronic Progressive in which the symptoms of the patients gets worse even though the distinct of the cause of the disorder may appear to be unclear. 5. Acute progressive whereby the underlying symptoms of the disorder appear to be getting worse from time to time.

Sclerosis can be substantially described as areas of the scarred tissue whereas multiple is an English word that is primarily used when describing more than one thing. Of all the disease complications of the central nervous system, it is unfortunate to highlight that multiple sclerosis is the most commonly demyelinating health complication. The areas of the central nervous system that tends to be affected by multiple sclerosis are referred to as plaques or lesions. The nervous system is the most common area that is usually affected by multiple sclerosis because it connects the main organs of the body such as the heart, the muscles, and the sensory organs. Nerve fibers that are instrumental in speeding the transmission of nerve impulses are sheathed in myelin to necessitate its operational ability.

CAUSES OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

The core cause of multiple sclerosis is yet to be established even though scientists and researchers from various fields of medicine including virology and immunology are have increased their efforts in digging into the issue to see if there is an underlying potential for establishing the nature of the disease. Nonetheless, the etiologies of multiple sclerosis are still unclear even though researchers have established that combination of exposure to the virus, genetic composition, and climatic changes can play a significant role in preventing the complication. It is worth to note that multiple sclerosis is not transmitted through genes. However, chances are that there are specific components of the central nervous system that may bear some defects that can trigger its development. Also, conducting a diagnosis of the complication is extremely difficult for the health professionals and physicians because its causes and development course are entirely unclear. Therefore, for a diagnosis to be reliable, multiple medical examinations must show the traces of at least two plaques that have occurred in different parts of the central nervous system. Otherwise, other possible causes that are likely to be associated with the disorder should essentially be ruled out.

SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Symptoms of multiples sclerosis primarily vary from one patient to another and from time to time. However, the most common symptoms of the disorder include numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, incoordination, urinary tract infections, and even blindness. Sometimes patients are even rendered ineffective to take part in their daily activities because the disease makes their bodies be primarily weak. Multiple sclerosis can also trigger energy complications in bodies of the victims making them be fatigued even after undertaking light tasks. The core cause of the fatigue is the fact that demyelinated muscles tend to use a lot of energy to conduct nerve impulses compelling them to rely on stronger muscles that become overworked in the long run. It is also worth to not that damaged nerve cells affects the capabilities of the muscles of the patients to conduct heat thus compelling the body to show symptoms.

There are no specific diagnostic tests that have been established with the capabilities of either accepting or ruling out the presence of multiple sclerosis in individuals. However, the neurological examination can aid the process of establishing the presence of the disease through the reflexes and signs that are associated with complaining patients. The correlation between signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis are yet to be established but on the contrary, its signs are described as the sets of abnormalities that are likely to be identified through medical examination whereas symptoms are the underlying series of complaints that are supposedly reported by the patients. In fact, chances are that symptoms of multiple sclerosis are likely to be observed even in the absence of the cause.

Plaques that tend to arise from the effect of multiple sclerosis are usually triggered by the inflammation that occurs when body fluids, as well as the white blood cells, accumulate in the blood vessels. That inflammation destructs myelin and later on as its fragments are cleared, a scar that is now referred to as a lesion or plaque is formed. However, the causes, as well as the effects of the scar or the plaque, are still unknown. The result of the scar is that it affects reduces the speed of communication in the body from time to time either partially or completely.

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Depending on whether the disorder has occurred as early mild attacks, exacerbating- remitting course or complete remission, the most common treatments that are used to treat the disease is primarily palliative. In fact, the adrenocorticotropic hormone is one example of the drugs that are significant in reducing the severity of the condition as well as the shortening of its life span. Despite the fact that the drug does not affect the underlying processes of multiple sclerosis in the central nervous system of an individual, it is highly recommended for its effectiveness in slowing down the progression of the complication. Nonetheless, medical researchers are working tirelessly to determine the nature of the disease as well as the possible substantial treatment that can cure the disease completely.

STATISTICS

The mean age of the onset of the disorder is approximately 30 years. The symptoms that are primarily associated with multiple sclerosis are tied down to an individual’s inability to conduct signals. Besides that, it is yet to be established why the disorder affects women more than men and that it is also more prevalent in the northern temperate regions compared to other climatic regions around the world. It is also worth to note that there are various reported cases of multiple sclerosis in various parts of the world with the United States alone being associated with approximately 10, 000 new cases every year.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, to sum up, multiple sclerosis is a chronic disorder that requires research concerns and interventions and that effort that are redirected at finding a substantial treatment for the disease should be embraced and apprehended whatsoever. Medical stakeholders should also join hands to ensure that the course of the disease is understandable. More importantly, governments and other concerned organizations should increase their resource allocations aimed at supporting the different activities that are aimed at resolving the disease. By so doing, we will be able to address the issue and redirect our focus in the fulfillment of other development goals for the betterment of our economies and nations as a whole.

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