Disseminated sclerosis (DS) is one of the diseases that occur more often in countries with a temperate climate than in warmer countries like Japan. The disease most often starts between the ages of 25 and 30 and women are more exposed than men.
Persons that get DS are often ambitious and have high demands for themselves. They are often stressed out and can be strained by traumatic events and relationship problems from the past, and not seldomly they are depressed.
Nerve cells have offshoots which send nerve signals to their neighbouring cells. Most of these offshoots are surrounded by a protective layer of fat called a myelin sheath. This fat sheath is the one being attacked in the case of DS. The sheath is dissolved, and inflammation and hard scar tissue which destroy the nerve occur.
The symptoms vary a lot in character and severity from one person to the next. It especially depends on which nerves are being attacked. The attacks can begin with light dizziness, pains behind the eyes and visual disturbances, prickling or tingling in the arms and legs, or muscle weakness which will disappear again after a period which can be of both short and long duration.
After this, more violent attacks with cerebral paralysis and loss of coordination can occur. There are often problems with regulating body temperature and often the centre which controls urination and defaecation is affected. Many patients suffering from DS experience concentration- and memory problems to some extent. Others develop indifference towards their condition. In some people the disease can progress to become more and more disabling, while, in other people, it stops at a certain level. Paralyzed muscles cannot be retrained.
Disseminated sclerosis is believed to be multifactorial, i.e. it has several causes. A hereditary genetic predisposition has been established by means of twin studies, but not all of those gentically predisposed develop sclerosis. The disease has been proved to be affected by the environment. Poor nutrition can also be contributory. DS has something in common with Alzheimer's disease in that homocystein is accumulated in the brain. Its symptoms also resemble those of heavy metal poisoning which also can be one of the causes, e.g. mercury seeping out from amalgam fillings. Moreover, many DS patients suffer from nickel allergy.
A viral attack is high on the list of possible causes. This is due to the fact that DS patients compared to others have much higher levels of antibodies against the measle virus in their blood. Research has shown that the immune system of these people constantly react to such an infection. If it has arrived via natural contamination or if it is caused by a belated reaction to a measle vaccine has not been established.
Other kinds of vira have also been found in DS patients, but they do not necessarily have something to do with the disease. Most probable is the theory that DS is an auto-immune disease, i.e. a disease in which the body's own immune system for unknown causes has been wrongly coded into attacking the myelin sheaths of the nerves. Much research has shown that DS patients have a reduced ability to neutralize free radicals.
