Essay Example on Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune Disease

The signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient because there are different levels of nerve damage caused by MS However people with severe nerve damage can end up being unable to walk without assistance some will not be able to walk at all One of the clearest signs of demyelination by MS is that patients will feel and electric shock type sensation if they move their neck in a certain position especially if they are moving it forward This is caused by the repeated attacks on the myelin by the immune system so much so that the myelin is no longer able to insulate the electric signals sent by the brain to the muscles of the neck resulting in the patient feeling a shock Another symptom caused by damage of the white matter of the optic nerve is Partial or complete loss of vision usually in one eye at a time often with pain during eye movement Multiple sclerosis 2017 August 04a Potential Causes1 Although MS is not hereditary there are a few genetic factors that can increase your risk chance One such genetic factor is common among other autoimmune diseases is a possible association with the HLA MHC complex within chromosome 6 studies have shown that HLA DRB1 15 01 on the HLA DRB1 15 01 DQA1 01 02 DQB1 06 02 haplotype is a disease susceptibility gene accounting for up to 35 of the heritability of the disease

 Multiple Sclerosis 2016 March 21b The very same article goes on to say that genes may play more of a role than previously thought First degree relatives of patients with MS are generally at 20 40 times greater risk of developing the disease themselves compared to the general population showing that the disease has a large genetic component Multiple Sclerosis 2016 March 21b 2 Another factor is your gender Women are about twice as likely as men are to develop MS Multiple sclerosis 2017 August 04a Other potential cause is believed to be Treatment Options Unfortunately there is no cure for MS but there are a few treatments that are available to you One form of treatment is Corticosteroids such as oral prednisone and intravenous methylprednisolone 2017 August 04a Corticosteroids are used to reduce the nerve inflammation However the side effects include insomnia mood swings and fluid retention Corticosteroids are only used to treat MS attacks but they do not do much in terms of slowing the worsening of disabilities in people afflicted with MS A treatment that is used to try and prevent further damage is through the prescription of a medication called Ocrelizumab Ocrevus it is currently The only FDA approved disease modifying therapy 2017 August 04a Conclusion MS can be a severely crippling autoimmune disease that destroys the central nervous system by disrupting communication between the brain and the body For the people afflicted with it is a constant struggle as there is no cure There is also no guarantee that any of the treatments available will work And unfortunately for my friend there was nothing he could do to prevent MS since no scientist has figured out how to The best he could have done was to lower his risk chance but somethings are just out of your control References Causes of Multiple Sclerosis n d Retrieved January 21 2018 from https www healthline com health multiple sclerosis causes Multiple Sclerosis 2016 March 21 Retrieved January 21 2018 from http www hladiseaseassociations com autoimmune diseases and hla multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis 2017 August 04 Retrieved January 21 2018 from https www mayoclinic org diseases conditions multiple sclerosis symptoms causes syc 20350269