What
is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple
Sclerosis is
considered by the medical community to be an autoimmune disorder, where
the
body becomes confused in some way to where it attacks itself, as if it
is a
foreign invader that the body needs to defend itself against.
Multiple
Sclerosis
is a term that covers a broad range
of MS symptoms that
are not usually the same or may
not even be similar from one case of Multiple Sclerosis to the next
case. Since
there appears not to be any 2
cases of Multiple Sclerosis that are exactly alike, in the severity,
frequncy or combination of the symptoms of MS, this has
resulted in there being several theories as to the suspected cause or causes of Multiple Sclerosis.
What is Multiple Sclerosis is a
question that is still not totally settled, in the minds of
the world wide medical community, since the disease process of
Multiple Sclerosis is not well understood, at this point.
Most
current MS research, that is being done to work
towards a cure
for Multiple Sclerosis, includes
going
many different directions at the same time, in the hopes that a cure
will be
found, while in the process more will hopefully be understood about how
and
what is affecting the body that can result in the scarring and possible
nerve
damage that is so often associated with Multiple
Sclerosis.
Possible Multiple
Sclerosis causes that are
being considered include a MS
virus
theory that something like the Epstein Barr
virus (that is linked to mononucleosis) or the German measles or
perhaps the chicken pox virus can be
a way
that the conditions are set up for Muliple Sclerosis to attack the body.
According to
Professor George Jelinek, M.D., who is an emergency physician
and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Western
Australia, states in his book entitled "Taking Control of Multiple
Sclerosis" that there is a genetic link in Multiple
Sclerosis.
Professor
George Jelinek, MD states that if a family member that is one
generation away from you was previously diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis, that you have a 300% higher chance of also being diagnosed.
What Professor George Jelinek, MD is referring to is if
your father, mother, brother or sister were previously
diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, this greatly increases the
possibility that you will also be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
But
in his book, Professor Jelinek, MD also comes to the
conclusion, through his own battle with Multiple Sclerosis after his
mother was severely disabled by the effects of Multiple Sclerosis, that
there are natural and alternative ways that can help to not only reduce
the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, but that can also help to restore
much or even most of what Multiple Sclerosis has removed
from your life
previously.
Another idea, which
is also being considered as one of the
possible Multiple
Sclerosis causes
is that the scarring is a result of the effects of Environmental toxins
attacking the body (like a nerve agent or something similar, which can
cause
direct nerve damage to the body).
But, at this point,
there is no conclusive proof that gives the
medical community enough evidence as to which way to focus the MS
research for
finding a cure
for Multiple Sclerosis or
to help focus the efforts for finding what can resolve the wide spread
physical
problems, resulting from the increase in the Multiple
Sclerosis incidence rate of
the number of people diagnosed
with Multiple Sclerosis around the world.
Because there are
such a wide variety of theories as to what
is Multiple Sclerosis and what can may be the cause or causes
of Multiple Sclerosis,
this has resulted in many approaches being used by the traditional and
complementary medical doctors in an attempt to bring some relief to
the symptoms of their Multiple Sclerosis patients.
The traditional
medical doctors are
broadening there scope of treatment options to include what is called
Complimentary Medicine for Multiple Sclerosis.
Complimentary
medicine includes using a broad range of options in finding a way to
bring
relief to the Multiple
Sclerosis symptoms,
that can include pharmaceutical drugs, which are often used to treat
Multiple Sclerosis many
times.
There are also
Alternative and Natural ways that are used
effectively for helping to reduce the broad range of MS
symptoms that are seen
in the many cases of MS that are diagnosed each year throughout the
many
countries throughout the world. The traditional doctors are
finding that
there are some benefits of using alternative and natural ways for
helping to
reduce the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.
This is called
Complimentary
medicine or even alternative medicine, when the traditional methods of
the treatment of disease are
combined
with alternative or natural methods.
Because of the
controversy that surrounds the possible causes
of Multiple Sclerosis
can also include
a broad range of the possible MS
treatments,
therapies and ways that are being used for Multiple Sclerosis in an
attempt to bring
relief to
the symptoms
of MS.
Since around 80% of our brains and 60%
of the rest our bodies are made up of nerves, the nerve damage that
typically
results from Multiple
Sclerosis can
affect how well the majority of
our bodies can function. The
problems with the scrambling of nerve signals, that typically
accompanies the symptoms
of Multiple Sclerosis,
can also cause most of the nervous system to appear to be short
circuiting.
The Multiple
Sclerosis brain
can also be affected that can result in scarring in the brain or MS
brain lesions
within the
brain, which can be seen on
the films of MRI test
or magnetic imaging resonance test results.
