Multiple Sclerosis



Multiple Sclerosis :

a serious and unpredictable neurological disease

Despite the availability of modern disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) since the late nineties, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex chronic inflammatory disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS) that still represents a medical challenge. It is one of the most common and debilitating neurodegenerative diseases in young adult patients and women are twice as likely to be affected[i]. Even though it usually starts between the ages of 20 and 40, MS can actually be seen at any age.

1. A multifaceted and unpredictable disease

MS is an autoimmune disease that affects both the CNS and spinal cord. It is characterized by multifocal areas of scar tissue (sclerosis) that lead to irreversible damages to the myelin sheaths that protect nerve cell axons. This process of demyelination actually takes away the protection of nerve fibers, which in turn reduces or even blocks electrical signals from the brain to the eyes, muscles, and other parts of the body. The accumulation of brain lesions over time is what leads to irreversible physical and neurological impairment. These lesions occur during relapses.

MS is unpredictable because the time at which patients can experience relapses and remissions cannot be estimated. This means that patients with MS have to live one day at a time.

2. A broad and uneven distribution

MS affects more than 2 million people worldwide. Epidemiological studies[ii] reveal that the distribution of the patient population is uneven. Highest prevalence rates are in the northern part of the world, including Europe, North America, Canada and Scotland (176 per 100,000 in Hungary that has the highest rate; 149 per 100,000 in Germany; 135 per 100,000 in North America), whereas Asia, Africa and South America have much lower prevalence levels (from ................
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