Understanding Multiple Sclerosis: What Causes The Symptoms?

Multiple sclerosis is a very unpredictable disease, which can present many challenges, including the possibility of facing increasing limitations. Understanding Multiple Sclerosis is the first step to fighting it.  The symptoms of MS can be quite devestating.

What Causes The Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis?

• MS symptoms result when an immune system attack affects myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system.
• Myelin is often compared to insulating material around an electrical wire; loss of myelin interferes with the transmission of nerve signals.
• Myelin is destroyed and replaced by scars of hardened "sclerotic" tissue. Some underlying nerve fibers are permanently severed. The damage appears in multiple places within the central nervous system, giving the disease its name.

While no cure for MS has been found yet, several FDA-approved drugs are available for the long-term treatment of MS.

These drugs have been shown to:

• Reduce the number and severity of MS flare-ups
• Possibly delay disease progression

In addition, many therapeutic and technological advances are helping people manage symptoms. Many more MS therapies are being studied in clinical trials, and these may lead to even greater treatments—and possibly a cure—for MS.

With various adjustments made along the way, most individuals with MS may look forward to a fulfilling and productive lifetime.

Contact American Companion Care for more information on how our in-home caregivers can make a person with MS feel enabled, motivated and connected to others.

Oftentimes a little help from a compassionate caregiver makes the symptoms of MS more manageable.