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Multiple sclerosis is the most common chronic, neurological disease diagnosed in young adults, for which we do not yet know the cause or have a cure. While 70% of people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, MS may also be seen in very young children and older adults. The diagnosis is most often made in early adulthood and the unpredictable nature and variable course of the disease creates a sense of uncertainty.
MS is considered to be an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks normal tissue in the body. Research to date
suggests that this attack is primarily aimed at myelin and oligodendrocyte cells. Myelin is an important insulating substance which protects nerve fibres in the central nervous system (CNS) and helps the efficient transmission of nerve impulses (messages) between the brain and other parts of the body. The oligodendrocyte cells are responsible for making and maintaining myelin.
In MS, a process called demyelination causes scar tissue or sclerotic plaques (lesions) to form along the myelin sheath. These interfere with the conduction of nerve impulses within the CNS, which causes the symptoms people may experience over the course of MS, such as impairment of motor, sensory and cognitive functions.
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