Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the many diseases that appear more frequently in countries with a temperate climate than in warmer countries such as e.g. Japan. Also, studies have shown that exposure to large amounts of sunlight during childhood and early youth reduces the risk of developing sclerosis. This might be caused by the body producing more vitamin D when exposed to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun because vitamin D protects against certain autoimmune reactions.
The disease most often begins at the age of 25 - 30 and women are somewhat more exposed than men.
People who develop sclerosis are often ambitious and have high demands for themselves. They often suffer from stress and can be strained by traumatic events and relationships from the past. Not rarely are they depressed.
Nerve cells have spouts that transmit nervous signals to the neighbouring cells. Most of these spouts are surrounded by a protective layer of fat called a myelin sheath. This fat sheath is the one being attacked in MS. The sheath is dissolved and inflammation and hard scar tissue, which destroy the nerve, will appear.
The symptoms vary quite a lot in character and severity from one person to the next. It is particularly dependent on which nerves are being attacked. The attacks can begin as a light dizziness, pains behind the eyes and visual disturbances, a prickling or tingling sensation in the arms and legs, or muscular weakness which will disappear again for a short or longer period.
After this, more violent attacks with cerebral paralysis and loss of coordination can appear. There are often problems with regulating body temperature and often the centre controlling urination and defaecation is affected. Many patients suffering from MS experience concentration- and memory problems to some degree. Others develop an indifference to their condition. In some people, the disease can develop to become progressingly disabling while, in others, the degeneration stops at a certain level. Paralyzed muscles can be retrained.
Multiple sclerosis is believed to be a multifactorial disease, i.e. it has several causes. A hereditary genetic predisposition has been established in twin studies but not all people who are genetically predisposed develop sclerosis. The environment seems to be another cause. Nutrition also plays a role. MS has something in common with Alzheimer's disease, namely that in both diseases there is an accumulation of homocysteine in the brain. The symptoms resemble heavy metal poisoning which can actually also have a causal connection with multiple sclerosis, e.g. seeping mercury from amalgam fillings. Moreover, many persons suffering from sclerosis also have nickel allergy. A theory mentions fungicides as a possible factor.
Viral attacks are also high up on the list of possible causes. The reson for this is the fact that patients with MS have a far higher level of antibodies against the measle virus in their blood than others. Research also shows that the immune system of these people is constantly reacting to such an infection. Whether it originates from a natural infection or is a delayed reaction to a measles vaccine has not been clarified.
Other types of virus have also been found in MS patients but they do not necessarily have something to do with the disease. The most probable cause is that multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune system is wrongly coded into attacking the myelin sheaths of the nerves on account of some unknown cause. Many studies show that MS patients have a reduced ability to neutralize free radicals.
