What is MS?

Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most common diseases of the
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). MS is an
inflammatory demyelinating condition. Myelin is a fatty material
that insulates nerves, acting much like the covering of an
electric wire and allowing the nerve to transmit its impulses
rapidly. It is the speed and efficiency with which these
impulses are conducted that permits smooth, rapid and
co-ordinated movements to be performed with little conscious effort.
In Multiple Sclerosis, the loss of myelin (demyelination) is
accompanied by a disruption in the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical
impulses to and from the brain and this produces the various
symptoms of MS. The sites where myelin is lost (plaques or lesions)
appear as hardened (scar) areas: in Multiple Sclerosis these scars
appear at different times and in different areas of the brain
and spinal cord - the term Multiple Sclerosis meaning,
literally, many scars

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