a closer look at MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Several hundred people took part in Sunday’s third annual Cycle for a Cure benefit at the Canfield Fairgrounds to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Ohio Buckeye Chapter. Some facts about the disease:

MS is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin coating around nerve fibers is damaged, interrupting the flow of information between the brain and the body as well as within the brain. Its cause is unknown.

Symptoms vary widely and can fluctuate and change from person to person, though the more-common ones include fatigue, numbness, tingling or spasticity, weakness, emotional and cognitive changes, clinical depression, vision, bladder, sexual and bowel problems and dizziness. Less-common symptoms can be speech and swallowing problems, along with seizures and hearing loss.

Diagnoses typically take place between age 20 and 50.

Although MS has no cure, a major treatment strategy to modify or slow the disease’s progression is comprehensive care, in which many health-care professionals’ expertise is used to coordinate plans for managing the disease while promoting comfort, functionality, independence and welfare. Also, numerous medications taken orally or injected can reduce disease activity and handle relapses.

Rehabilitation strategies for improving mobility and function include physical, occupational and speech-language therapy, as well as vocational and cognitive rehabilitation.

Other important components are exercise, emotional support and a good diet.

Source: National MS Society