Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis
SCIN132 - Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology with Lab
AMU
Multiple Sclerosis
A disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) is known as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and affects over 2.5 million people worldwide. Around 400,000 people who have the disease reside in the United States. Of that 400,000 the ratio is roughly one woman to every seven men. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease where the individual’s immune system attacks the central nervous system. The immune system attacks and damages the myelin sheath which is a coating that is around the nerve fibers which eventually attacks and kills those nerve fibers as well. Every signal that controls your thoughts and daily movements’ originate from the brain and the spinal cord, it is extremely difficult to move or even think when those signals are not properly functioning. In October 2010 Courtney Galiano, a professional dancer, was a star on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” she was performing beautifully, like a professional dancer should. Everything was going well for this 23 year old young lady, until one day she woke up and had no sensation in her legs. Courtney described the feeling on a Newsday interview as;
"My legs went numb on the season-seven tour. I thought I had herniated a disc or pinched a nerve, so I kind of ignored it. I didn't want to be taken off the tour, and I'm a dancer -- I beat up my body for a living. It's nothing. Then it lasted till about March, and when I touched my chin to my chest, I felt this electricity thing. And later I learned this was called Lhermitte's sign, and it's a symptom of MS." (Courtney Galiano reveals MS diagnosis - Newsday)
Even though there was numbness and an electrical sensation Courtney never experienced any pain. How does one’s own immune system attack the central nervous system and cause such damage as Multiple Sclerosis? The central nervous system is made up of three main components, the brain, cranial
SCIN132 - Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology with Lab
AMU
Multiple Sclerosis
A disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) is known as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and affects over 2.5 million people worldwide. Around 400,000 people who have the disease reside in the United States. Of that 400,000 the ratio is roughly one woman to every seven men. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease where the individual’s immune system attacks the central nervous system. The immune system attacks and damages the myelin sheath which is a coating that is around the nerve fibers which eventually attacks and kills those nerve fibers as well. Every signal that controls your thoughts and daily movements’ originate from the brain and the spinal cord, it is extremely difficult to move or even think when those signals are not properly functioning. In October 2010 Courtney Galiano, a professional dancer, was a star on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” she was performing beautifully, like a professional dancer should. Everything was going well for this 23 year old young lady, until one day she woke up and had no sensation in her legs. Courtney described the feeling on a Newsday interview as;
"My legs went numb on the season-seven tour. I thought I had herniated a disc or pinched a nerve, so I kind of ignored it. I didn't want to be taken off the tour, and I'm a dancer -- I beat up my body for a living. It's nothing. Then it lasted till about March, and when I touched my chin to my chest, I felt this electricity thing. And later I learned this was called Lhermitte's sign, and it's a symptom of MS." (Courtney Galiano reveals MS diagnosis - Newsday)
Even though there was numbness and an electrical sensation Courtney never experienced any pain. How does one’s own immune system attack the central nervous system and cause such damage as Multiple Sclerosis? The central nervous system is made up of three main components, the brain, cranial