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Show i MS strikes 200 new victims each week . By PAUL CHALLIS News Editor ' Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series dealing with multiple sclerosis. BOUNTIFUL If you don't know what multiple sclerosis (MS) is, your chances of knowing someone some-one that does sufter from it in the future are very high, as it is estimated that a quarter of a million Americans have MS with nearly 200 new cases diagnosed every single week. MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system in which the simplest, everyday tasks can no longer be taken for granted. Its symptoms can run the gamut from slight blurring of vision to complete paralysis. The human body contains a fatty substance called myelin which surrounds sur-rounds and protects nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord (the central cen-tral nervous system) in the same way that insulation protects electrical elec-trical wires. When any part of this myelin sheathing, or insulation, is destroyed, nerve impulses to the brain are interrupted and distorted. Trie result is multiple sclerosis, multiple because many scattered areas of the brain and spinal cord are affected; sclerosis because sclerosed, or hardened, patches of scar tissue form over the damaged , myelin. Symptoms of MS vary greatly depending upon where the sclerosed scleros-ed patches are formed in the central nervous system. They may include tingling sensations, numbness, slurred speech, blurred or double vision, muscle weakness, poor coordination, co-ordination, unusual fatigue, muscle cramps, spasms, problem with bladder, bowel and sexual function, and paralysis. Occasionally, there may be such mental changes as forgetfulness or confusion. These symptoms may occur in any combination com-bination and can vary from very mild to very severe. There is no way at the present time to predict when or even if attacks at-tacks of the disease will recur. Symptoms vary greatly from person to person and from time to time in the same person. In general, however, the typical pattern of MS is marked by periods of active disease called exacerbations and quiescent, or symptom-free, periods called remissions. , Some people may have an initial attack and no recurrence afterward. Others have what is called "relapsing-remitting disease." This means they have exacerbations, which may take place on an average of one every two or three years, followed by periods of remission, which may last months and even years. Still others may experience a chronic, progressive form of MS. Because MS affects people so differently, it is difficult to make generalizations about the extent of disability. Statistics, however, have shown that two out of three people with MS remain ambulatory over their lifetimes. MS is not contagious con-tagious and it is rarely fatal. MS most often strikes people who are in their 20s and 30s and young adults "just as they're starting star-ting to live." Women develop it more frequently fre-quently than men, whites more frequently fre-quently than blacks or Orientals. The reasons are not yet understood. The disease is also most frequently fre-quently found among people in the colder climates, both north and south of the Equator. Scientists don't understand why this is so, but studies strongly suggest that where you were bom and lived during your first 15 years are more important impor-tant than later residences. Studies also indicate certain genetic factors within individuals may make them more receptive to the disease, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited. MS is not always easy to detect or diagnose because early symptoms symp-toms can be so spotty, because other disease of the central nervous system have some of the same warning war-ning signs, and because there is not a definitive neurological or laboratory test that can confirm or rule out MS. However, recent advances ad-vances in the technology of imaging the brain are helping to clarify diagnosis. di-agnosis. There are medications which can provide symptomatic relief for acute attacks and for more chronic reducing spasms. Tension, bowel and urinary distress, pain and other manifestations of the disease can also be eased by judicious use of medication, taken under a physician's physi-cian's direction. There are other treatments that help. Counseling, to decrease emotional emo-tional stress; physical therapy; exercise ex-ercise programs; attention to diet and adequate rest-all of these are extremely valuable in helping a person per-son remain independent and able to lead a full and productive life. There is no cure yet for MS. The cause of MS is unknown. The cure and cause are the subjects of intensive inten-sive research on a national and an international level, and their exploration ex-ploration branches out into many fields, including virology, immunology im-munology and the biochemistry of myelin. The pace of investigation into the diseases of the central nervous system has quickened and the body of knowledge has grown enormously enormous-ly in the last 10 years. In the past two years there has seemed to be an air of optimism among researchers that the answer isn't too far away. Much of this information has been furnished by the National Multiple Mul-tiple Sclerosis Society. The MS toll-free toll-free information line is: 1-800-624-8236. In part two of the series the recent re-cent developments for a cure to MS |