Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple Sclerosis (MS), chronic, unpredictable, and often progressive disease of the central nervous system that attacks and destroys tissues in the brain and spinal cord . There are several forms of MS, but all forms affect nerve function, resulting in problems ranging from mild numbness and difficulty walking to paralysis and blindness. Although MS can occur at almost any age, the disease usually strikes people who are between the ages of 20 and 40. For unknown reasons, MS is more common in Caucasians, women, and people living in temperate, rather than tropical, climates. The cause of MS is unknown, but genetics, an infectious agent, a faulty immune system , or a combination of these factors appears to play a role in why a person contracts the disease. MS is thought to occur in people who have a genetic susceptibility for the disease, demonstrated by cases of MS occurring within the same family too frequently to be accounted for simply by chance. However, studies of identical twin