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Featured 2013 Cyclist
 Danny Leavitt
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What is MS?
What is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.
Who gets MS? In the United States today, there are approximately 400,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) - with 200 more people diagnosed every week. Worldwide, MS is thought to affect more than 2.5 million people. While the disease is not contagious or directly inherited, epidemiologists ( the scientists who study patterns of disease ) have identified factors in the distribution of MS around the world that may eventually help determine what causes the disease. These factors include gender, genetics, age, geography, and ethnic background. Patterns in the distribution of MS As in other autoimmune diseases, MS is significantly more common (at least 2-3 times) in women than men. This gender difference has stimulated important research initiatives looking at the role of hormones in MS. Read more on autoimmune diseases. MS is not directly inherited, but genetics play an important role in who gets the disease. While the risk of developing MS in the general population is 1/750, the risk rises to 1/40 in anyone who has a close relative (parent, sibling, child) with the disease. Even though identical twins share the same genetic makeup, the risk for an identical twin is only 1/4 - which means that some factor(s) other than genetics are involved. While most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, MS can appear in young children and teens as well as much older adults. Studying the disease in different age groups may help scientists determine the cause of MS and explain why the disease course differs from one person to another. Important questions include why the disease appears so early in some children and why people who are diagnosed after age 50 tend to have a more steadily progressive course that primarily affects their ability to walk. In all parts of the world, MS is more common at northern latitudes that are farther from the equator and less common in areas closer to the equator. Researchers are now investigating whether increased exposure to sunlight and the vitamin D it provides may have a protective effect on those living nearer the equator. MS occurs in most ethnic groups, including African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics/Latinos, but is more common in Caucasians of northern European ancestry. However some ethnic groups, such as the Inuit, Aborigines and Maoris, have few if any documented cases of MS regardless of where they live. These variations that occur even within geographic areas with the same climate suggest that geography, ethnicity, and other factors interact in some complex way. The Four Courses of MS People with MS can typically experience one of four disease courses, each of which might be mild, moderate, or severe. Relapsing-Remitting MS People with this type of MS experience clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function. These attacks - which are called relapses, flare-ups, or exacerbations - are followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions), during which no disease progression occurs. Approximately 85% of people are initially diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. Primary-Progressive MS This disease course is characterized by slowly worsening neurologic function from the beginning - with no distinct relapses or remissions. The rate of progression may vary over time, with occasional plateaus and temporary minor improvements. Approximately 10% of people are diagnosed with primary-progressive MS. Secondary-Progressive MS Following an initial period of relapsing-remitting MS, many people develop a secondary-progressive disease course in which the disease worsens more steadily, with or without occasional flare-ups, minor recoveries (remissions), or plateaus. Before the disease-modifying medications became available, approximately 50% of people with relapsing-remitting MS developed this form of the disease within 10 years. Long-term data are not yet available to determine if treatment significantly delays this transition. Progressive-Relapsing MS In this relatively rare course of MS (5%), people experience steadily worsening disease from the beginning, but with clear attacks of worsening neurologic function along the way. They may or may not experience some recovery following these relapses, but the disease continues to progress without remissions. Since no two people have exactly the same experience of MS, the disease course may look very different from one person to another. And, it may not always be clear to the physician - at least right away - which course a person is experiencing. Contact us for information on resources available to those affected by MS.
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