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Fighting Multiple Sclerosis – Providing Hope
Those with the initial symptoms of MS are generally alarmed at first. Their vision could suddenly blur. Or one of their feet might go numb.They might feel dizzy and constantly tired. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease with many faces. It affects some 2.5 million people worldwide. MS is one of the most common neurological disorders in young adults, and it is currently incurable. But nowadays there are ways of slowing its progression and of enhancing sufferers' quality of life considerably.
The disease was discovered by an English pathologist called Robert Carswell. In 1838 he drew an illustration of its effects: a brain and spinal cord with a particularly large number (multiple) of hard (sclerotic) lesions. These findings gave the disease its name. Even today, their precise cause and the mechanisms that produce them are not fully understood. The first medical description was written in 1868 by the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, the most famous nerve doctor of his time.
MS is an inflammatory disorder of the brain and nervous system which results from impaired communication at the molecular level. Substances which occur naturally in the body are falsely identified as foreign. This triggers a reaction in the body's defense system: the immune system attacks the body's own structures in the central nervous system, triggering inflammation. The myelin sheath that surrounds the nerve fibers is gradually destroyed by scavenger cells (macrophages) which have been activated by defense cells (T-cells) in the immune system. The result is catastrophic. Wherever the myelin sheath has been destroyed or is scarred, the nerve cannot transmit impulses correctly.
About 80 percent of MS patients have the relapsing-remitting form of the disease, where symptoms appear suddenly, last for a few days, weeks or months, and then more or less resolve for a period of time. More than half of these patients develop the secondary, progressive form within ten years. With this for, the symptoms persist and worsen continually. The least common, but most severe from of MS is primary progressive multiple sclerosis, when symptoms worsen continually without periods of remission.
In spite of an intensive research effort, no drugs have been found which are capable of curing MS, but there are drugs which slow its progression. Research and development scientists at Bayer Schering Pharma are working to optimize one of the company's established substances in the quest to give patients even greater quality of life, as well as researching new treatments for MS.
The company also provides an extensive support network to make sure that doctors and patients always have the latest information about the disease.
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