There are new and exciting treatments available for Multiple Sclerosis, and March is the month dedicated to recognizing this disease. There is a need to further educate people about Multiple Sclerosis and we will start with a few statistics.

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease affecting the brain and spinal cord (also known as the central nervous system), the causes of which are still unknown. The disease can be relatively mild or severely debilitating, and is the leading cause of disability among young adults ages 20 to 40. There are four main types of multiple sclerosis: relapsing-remitting, primary-progressive, secondary-progressive, and progressive-relapsing.

The cause of Multiple Sclerosis is still not known. For some reason the covering of the nerve fibers (myelin) becomes damaged in random areas. The areas of damage are known as plaques. The job of myelin is to insulate nerve fibers. It helps nerve messages to be quickly and properly conducted to and from the brain. The symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis depend on where these plaques occur in the central nervous system.

Multiple Sclerosis(MS) statistics show that approximately 250,000 to 350,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with this disease. The life expectancy for people with Multiple Sclerosis is nearly the same as for those without MS. Because of this, multiple sclerosis statistics place the annual cost of MS in the United States in the billions of dollars.

Familiarize yourself with the new medications that are on the market to treat Multiple Sclerosis. We will be sharing more information regarding those medications this month.

For more information visit:

The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
http://www.msfocus.org/national-ms-awareness-month.aspx

http://multiple-sclerosis.emedtv.com/multiple-sclerosis/multiple-sclerosis-statistics.html