What is MS?

MS is a disease of the central nervous system...the brain, spinal cord and nerves.

MS affects the way messages are sent around the body. It is unpredictable and affects everyone differently.

People are most often diagnosed with MS in their 20s and 30s. There are 2.5 million MS'ers in the world. You could fill Wembley Stadium with all the people in the UK who have MS (that's around 85,000 MS'ers).

What causes MS?

It's thought that MS is caused by your immune system malfunctioning, but no one knows why!

The immune system usually protects your body, however in MS it turns on itself and starts to attack the central nervous system, in particular the covering that protects the nerves. 

What happens?

Think of  your brain as a hi-fi, your hands as speakers and the nerves as speaker wire. If the speaker wire has a damaged protective covering, sound quality may become crackly and unreliable.

Multiple Sclerosis literally means 'many scars'... these scars can form anywhere on nerves in the spine and in the brain.  Depending where the scars form, different symptoms can be experienced in different parts of the body.

What are the symptoms?

For many, MS comes and goes, for others it's more progressive. 

The brain and nerves control the body's functions, so it's not surprising that MS affects people very differently.

Some common symptoms are: extreme tiredness (fatigue), impaired vision, loss of balance and muscle coordination, stiffness and difficulty walking.

Many of the symptoms are invisible making it difficult to understand how an MS'er is feeling.

What are the treatments?

There are a range of drugs available to limit the effects of MS, reduce attacks and help people manage their lifestyle.

New drugs are continually being developed with very exciting prospects for the future.

More detailed info on any aspect of MS can be found through the links in the Little Black Book