Anyone can be affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Around 85,000 people in the UK have MS. It is most likely to begin in people aged between 20 and 40 and women are more likely to be affected than men.
Noone knows what exactly causes MS but, for some reason, the body starts to attack its own tissues because they 'remind' the immune system of a foreign invading microorganism. The body starts to react against the myelin sheaths that surround nerves, removing this protection and leaving the nerves to become scarred and hardened. The word sclerosis means 'hardened'.
The symptoms produced depend on which nerves are affected. The most common are: vision problems, including eye pain, dim or blurred vision and double vision, problems with walking, balance and coordination, stiffness and spasm, numbness or "pins and needles, tremor (shakiness), speech difficulties, including slurred speech and poor memory. It is also common for sufferers to feel very tired and weak.
Noone knows what exactly causes MS but, for some reason, the body starts to attack its own tissues because they 'remind' the immune system of a foreign invading microorganism. The body starts to react against the myelin sheaths that surround nerves, removing this protection and leaving the nerves to become scarred and hardened. The word sclerosis means 'hardened'.
The symptoms produced depend on which nerves are affected. The most common are: vision problems, including eye pain, dim or blurred vision and double vision, problems with walking, balance and coordination, stiffness and spasm, numbness or "pins and needles, tremor (shakiness), speech difficulties, including slurred speech and poor memory. It is also common for sufferers to feel very tired and weak.