Although both MS and SS are autoimmune disorders, they are different conditions. Multiple sclerosis affects only the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. In contrast, SS is a multisystem disease, meaning it can affect multiple areas of the body. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-term (chronic) disease of the central nervous system.
It's thought to be an autoimmune disorder, a condition in which the body attacks itself by mistake. Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease that affects people differently. Some people with multiple sclerosis may have only mild symptoms. Others may lose the ability to see clearly, write, speak, or walk when communication between the brain and other parts of the body is interrupted.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) damages nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Over time, it can cause vision problems, muscle weakness, loss of balance, or numbness. There are several drug treatments that can limit nerve damage and slow the progression of the disease. It's a neurological condition, meaning it affects the nerves.
Multiple sclerosis occurs when the immune system attacks nerves by mistake. It damages the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system connects everything the body does, so multiple sclerosis can cause many different types of symptoms. Relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis is a type of multiple sclerosis in which there are relapses (symptoms worsen) followed by recovery (that is, when it comes to “remission”).
The term multiple sclerosis refers to the distinctive areas of scar tissue (sclerosis also called plaques or lesions) that result from the immune system's attack on myelin. Vision problems, such as optic neuritis (blurred vision and pain in one eye), are often one of the first signs of multiple sclerosis. An MRI looks for evidence of injuries (damaged areas) in the brain or spinal cord that indicate the presence of multiple sclerosis. In addition to NINDS, other NIH institutes, such as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), fund research on multiple sclerosis.
To understand what happens in multiple sclerosis, it's helpful to understand how the central nervous system works. Researchers participating in the BEAT-MS clinical trial (the best available treatment compared to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis) are extracting some immune cells and then injecting some of the person's own blood-producing stem cells to restore the immune system and stop attacking the CNS. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling neurological disease among young adults, and symptoms usually appear between the ages of 20 and 40. In some cases, multiple sclerosis causes disability and loss of physical or mental function.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and the body.
