MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS | At a glance

People of all ages took part in Sunday’s 23rd annual 4-mile MS Super Walk in Mill Creek MetroParks to raise money to benefit those with the chronic neurological disease that affects the central nervous system. Some facts about MS:

A precise cause is unknown, but overactive immune cells cause inflammation that damages and reduces myelin, which allows nerve signals to travel correctly, and results in lesions.

Over time, hardened scar tissue forms and usually disrupts nerve signals from the brain, through the spinal cord and to various parts of the body.

Between 350,000 and 500,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed.

Common symptoms are fatigue, difficulties with vision, tremors, dizziness and sensory problems such as pain, numbness, itching and a “pins and needles” sensation. Others are depression, spasticity, gait impairment, bladder dysfunction and speech and swallowing challenges.

Thirty percent to 70 percent of those affected also have changes in cognitive function such as short-term memory impairment.

Treatments typically manage symptoms, decrease the number and severity of relapses and slow the disease’s progression. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved seven drugs to act as modification treatments.

Other recommendations are implementing effective stress-management techniques, eating a well-balanced diet, joining a support group and taking part in a well-designed exercise program that can include pilates and water therapy.

Source: Multiple Sclerosis Foundation