Multiple Sclerosis Research Paper

The neurological disease I chose to write about is Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis hits very close to home because 5 years ago my grandmother was diagnosed and the disease has sparked my interest ever since. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system that causes inflammation and destruction of the brain and spinal cord. It is considered “immune-mediated” because the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system (Braley, Chervin). The target that the immune system attacks remains unknown. Many researchers and experts call MS an “auto-immune” disease but because no specific antigen has been identified in MS, it is a prevalent subject of debate in the scientific community (NMSS). Because MS is still a relatively unfamiliar disorder, there is currently no cure.
In the central nervous system, the immune system attacks the myelin that surrounds the nerve fibers in our bodies and the nerve fibers themselves. The damaged myelin forms scar tissue, called sclerosis, which is how the disease got its name. Because these nerve fibers are damaged, the nerve impulses that would regularly travel to and from the brain and spinal cord are distorted or even inhibited all together. This can produce a variety of symptoms such as weakness and fatigue, numbness or tingling, mobility difficulties,
MS patients have relatively the same life expectancy as the general population, but because of its degenerative nature, the symptoms of MS cause pain, discomfort, inconvenience and may leave patients severely disabled. Because of this, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, an alarming statistic has been published that “suicide rates among people with MS are higher than those in the general public” (Madell). However, for the most part, patients typically die from many of the same conditions that people without MS die from, including cancer and heart