Multiple Sclerosis Health Paper Essay Example

Milano (2005) states that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease people live with for 30 to 40 years. That is a long time to be living with a disease so incapacitating. Many people do not know about Multiple Sclerosis and its effects on the individuals with this debilitating disease. Further insight will be given on the causes, prevalence, racial disparity, treatments, research, funding, and future studies. According to the Institute of Medicine, Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, inflammatory, demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (Williamson, 2007). Multiple Sclerosis affects the body's neurons, the cells of the brain and spinal cord that carry information, create thought and perception, and allow the brain to control the body. Surrounding many of these neurons is a fatty layer known as the myelin sheath, which helps neurons carry electrical signals. Multiple Sclerosis causes the myelin sheath to gradually deteriorate. When the myelin sheath is destroyed, the neurons can no longer efficiently conduct their electrical signals. Multiple Sclerosis can cause a variety of symptoms which range from visual, sensation problems, muscle weakness, slurred speech, pain, severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, and depression. According to King (2007), it has been established that Multiple Sclerosis is not a single-gene disorder. It involves multiple genes interacting with an environmental trigger or triggers. Research points toward infections rather than something toxic in air, water, or food as a triggering agent, though recent evidence hints that lack of sun exposure, leading to lower vitamin D levels, may play a role (King, 2007). Much has been learned about the damage of Multiple Sclerosis, but the exact cause remains a mystery. Nicholas LaRocca, study's project officer and director of Health Care Delivery and Policy Research for the National MS Society, explains that it is very important to understand the medical progression and what happens to people with