Quick MS Facts

Here are some quick facts of MS to help sum it all up for you:

• MS is a progressive disease of the nervous system, for which there is no cure.
• More than 2,000,000 people in the world have MS.
• More women than men have MS, with a ratio of 2 men to 3 women affected.
• MS is the most common diseases of the central nervous system in young adults.
• There are four main types of MS: benign, relapsing remitting, secondary progressive and primary progressive.
• Sclerosis means scars, these are the plaques or lesions in the brain and spinal cord.
• In MS, the protective myelin covering of the nerve fibres in the central nervous system is damaged.
• Inflammation and ultimate loss of myelin causes disruption to nerve transmission and affects many functions of the body.
• While the exact cause of MS is not known, much is known about its effect on immune system function which may be the ultimate cause of the disease.
• MS is not directly hereditary, although genetic susceptibility plays a part in its development.
• MS is not contagious.
• Diagnosis of MS is generally between 20 and 40 years of age, although onset may be earlier.
• MS is rarely diagnosed under 12 and over 55 years of age.
• There are a wide range of symptoms. Fatigue is one of the most common.
• The incidence of MS increases in countries further from the equator.
• There is no drug that can cure MS, but treatments are now available which can modify the course of the disease.
• Many of the symptoms of MS can be successfully managed and treated