Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an unceasing, impulsive, and a lot progressive sickness of the central nervous system that attacks and destroys tissues in the brain and spinal cord. There are several forms of MS, but all forms affect nerve function, resulting in problems ranging from mild numbness and difficulty walking to paralysis and blindness. Although MS can occur at almost any age, the disease usually strikes people who are between the ages of 20 and 40. For unknown reasons, MS is more common in Caucasians, women, and people living in temperate, rather than tropical, climates. The International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies estimates that up to 2.5 million people in the world have MS, and according to statistics gathered by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, approximately 250,000 to 350,000 people in the United States have the disease.
MS results from a misdirected immune-system attack leveled principally against myelin, a white, fatty substance that coats rope like nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Myelin provides insulation that speeds the transmission of nerve signals relaying information into, within, and out of the brain and spinal cord. When myelin is attacked and destroyed in MS, a process known as demyelination, nerve transmission flow is interrupted, resulting in a variety of neurological problems. (Akerkar, Shashank Bichile, Lata S (2004)
The position of myelin attack often dictates the nerve circuitry pretentious, and consequently the symptoms that are experienced. For instance, if demyelination occurs in the nerve circuitry that carries messages between the muscles and the brain, then it may cause problems with movement. If demyelination occurs in the nerves that carry sensory information to the brain, MS may cause problems with sensory functions, such as vision. There is also evidence that, in addition to the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves, the nerve fibers themselves may be attacked at some point during the course of the disease.
