Question 1

what is ms?

Accepted Answer

Multiple sclerosis: Ms is a disease of the brain & spinal cord in which inflammation damages  fatty tissue called myelin that surrounds certain nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The "myelin" acts  like insulation around an electric wire.  When its damaged nerve cells can not send messages to other parts of the nervous system normally. This can result various symptoms, weakness, speech or vision issues, etc.

Question 2

who gets ms?

Accepted Answer

See below: Typical age range between 30-50, but clearly there are cases in both younger and older adults, as well as in children. Certain populations worldwide have a higher incidence of ms, such as those of northern european heritage, whereas others have very low or non-existent MS such as african and aborigine.  This reflects genetic risk factors coupled with enviromental triggers.

Question 3

is ms common?

Accepted Answer

Millions have MS: MS is thought to affect greater than 2.3 million people worldwide. There are about  2.5 per 100,000  new cases that develop per year.

Question 4

is ms hereditary?

Accepted Answer

Yes..but low ..: Even in identical twins, the incidence is only 20-35%, thus environmental factors (infections such as epstein virus, geography, vitamin d deficiency? +others factors, unknown)  play more important role than genetic in development of ms..There is still much ongoing research in this area and hopefully will shed more light in the years ahead.
It is a difficult one if you have ms, best of luck to you.

Question 5

what is benign ms?

Accepted Answer

See below: Benign MS characterizes about 10-20% of all relapsing forms of ms.  It is defined as disease which has episodes of neurological disability from which the individual makes a full recovery, and that over decades does not accumulate any significant cognitive or physicial disability.

Question 6

how is ms diagnosed?

Accepted Answer

Clinical,MRI: The diagnosis of ms is still mainly history taking and neurological examination. Advent of MRI has made the diagnosis easier and earlier by showing classical lesions  not explained by other pathologies.

Question 7

what is advanced ms?

Accepted Answer

See below: This discription likely reflects progressive stage disease with an accumulation of neurological disability.

Question 8

does diet affect ms?

Accepted Answer

Unlikely: I am not aware of a link of diet to causation of ms, but many people with MS tend to be constipated, which can be aggravated by dietary factors.

Question 9

what can i do with ms ?

Accepted Answer

A FEW CAVEATS: Recognize that this is a treatable and controllable condition in most pts, and that initiation of treatment asap is the cornerstone of success.  Vitamin d supplementation is very crucial, and low fat, low salt diets, with aerobic exercise also make difference.  You need to be followed by a neurologist with extensive experience in ms.

Question 10

what do ms symtoms mean?

Accepted Answer

Acute vs chronic: New symptoms (acute) imply a new attack on the nervous system by the disease. These usually improve with time but the patient will often not fully recover. Chronic symptoms are due to structural damage that will not improve over time.

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