Musclar Sclerosis - Research Paper Example

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the United States of America, there are 250,000 people in the country who suffer from this disease. Furthermore, it points out that the total number of people with this condition may be the double of this figure owing to the fact that many people do not chose to consult their physicians and misdiagnose their own condition (Rosner et al 2008 p7). The disease is considered to have a greater predisposition towards females and the ratio of the affected females to affected males is 2:1.

The disease does not present in the early ages of life and nor are there any presenting cases after the fifth decade of life. Individuals are mainly affected between these age groups (Robbins et al 2005 p 1382; Mitchell et al 2007 p 887). Multiple sclerosis is not a congenital disease and it is a condition which affects a person later in life and is acquired. It is considered to be caused by an autoimmune mechanism. But definitive causes for this disease have still not been identified. It has been highlighted that the condition may also be stimulated and caused by external environmental factors.

The condition is not infective and hence does not spread from one individual to another. Studies in the United States and England have highlighted interesting aspects of the disease and it has been seen that this pathological condition mainly affects the upper classes and it is more common in countries with proper hygienic measures. It has been seen that in the developing nations where the hygiene is low, the disease is not prevalent and it is hypothesized that these populations tend to acquire an immune mechanism against this disease.

Furthermore, it has also been presented that the pathology is more prevalent in areas with lower temperatures (Robbins et al 2005 p 1382; Rosner et al 2008 p 8; Ganong 2005 p51). The disease has been suggested to be an autoimmune response of the body against the myelin sheath. This reaction of the body is considered to have a genetic link as well. This has been highlighted due to the fact that there is 15 times increased vulnerability of developing the condition if “first degree relatives” suffer from the disease.

If one twin suffers from the disease, the other twin also has a high susceptibility of developing the condition (Robbins et al 2005). Multiple sclerosis follows a clinical course where attacks of the symptoms appear between intervals of weeks or months or years. These symptoms may even subside for extended periods of time and the patient retains normal functioning but they have a tendency to recur as well. With increasing time, the symptoms tend to subside but there may be long lasting damage to neurological function (Robbins et al 2005 p 1382).

The disease presents with many symptoms which include optic neuritis and retrobulbar neuritis. The patient may complain of visual disturbances. The involvement of the brainstem tends to result in ataxia, nystagmus and internuclear opthalmoplegia. The spinal cord is also involved and the demyelination of the nerve fibers in the spinal cord results in problems of the motor and sensory conduction in the arms and the legs. The functioning of the urinary bladder is also affected and it loses its normal working.

The patient may also present with an injury of the spinal cord which would not be painful. The patient may