Myself, and 2 of my fantastic friends have decided to write a blog together. We all have MS (Multiple Sclerosis). We all go to the hospital once per month for an infusion of medication to help manage our MS. In fact that is how we met. The medication that we are on is called "Tysabri", which is how we became the "Tysabriposse"! We are all different ages, have different backgrounds and different stories, but we all have the same disease. Our aim, of writing this blog, is to share our own, individual information, which will hopefully help others, the same way that others have shared their own information, which has already helped us.

What is MS???

MS (Multiple Sclerosis) was first described by french neurologist Charcot in 1868. It's an inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system. The fatty sheath around the axons of the brain and spinal cord and optic nerve (myelin), are damaged. The bodys own immune system attacks it. When myelin is lost, the axons are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring, and can no longer effectively conduct signals. This leads to a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms. Some of the more common symptoms are:

- burred or double vision
- numbness or pins and needles
- weakness in the arms or legs
- loss of balance
- tendency to drag one foot
- loss of coordination
- extreme fatigue
- continence problems
- hand tremors
- loss of mobility
- problems with or changes in memory functioning
- speech difficulties and slurring

MS takes several forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks (relapsing forms) or slowly accumulating over time (progressive forms).

18,000 Australians have MS.

It is thought that genetic and environmental factors are involved in a person getting MS. MS is generally more common between latitudes 40degrees and 60degrees north and south of the equator. Between 10 and 20% of people have a relative with the disease. 70% of people with the disease are female. It generally occurs between the ages of 20 and 50, and 98% of people with it are caucasian. From research, it is found that a relapse has been preceded by a viral illness in 2/3 of people.

Prognosis is difficult to predict; it depends on the subtype of the disease, the individual patients disease characteristics, the initial symptoms and the degree of disability the person experiences as time advances. Life expectancy is 5-10yrs lower to that of unaffected individuals.

Since identification, MS has been a subject of intense, world-wide research but still it's cause and cure remain elusive!!

Thanks to MS Australia- http://www.msaustralia.org.au/
Better Health Channel Website- http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Multiple_sclerosis_explained
Wikepedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)