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More women develop MS than men.

The term, multiple sclerosis (MS), represents an autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord. There is no known cure for MS to date. The type, severity and progression of multiple sclerosis cases differ from one person to another. Researchers and physicians first identified it back in 1849.

According to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and stroke, no one knows exactly how many people have MS. Experts believe that approximately 250,000 to 350,000 people in the United States suffer from physician-diagnosed multiple sclerosis. This estimate suggests that doctors diagnose approximately 200 new cases each week.

Symptoms usually appear in people between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. Women are twice as likely as men to develop MS. It’s also 5X more likely to occur in climates like the northern US, Canada and Europe. This suggests environmental factors could play a part in people who develop the disease. There is a 1-3% chance that you could develop it too if a close relative has it.

Some early symptoms may include:

• Blurred or double vision
• Red-green color distortion
• Blindness in one eye.
• Vague feelings of weakness
• Persistent clumsiness
• Unexplained exhaustion
• One or more areas of your skin can feel numb and tingly.

When a person experiences the above symptoms, doctors refer to the events as MS episodes or attacks.  They tend to come and go, unpredictably.

Other symptoms that develop later on include:

• Muscle Weakness
• Pain
• Tremors
• Speech and visual disturbances
• Bowel and bladder dysfunctions
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Inability to walk

Many patients do not receive a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in the beginning. There is a lot of misinformation associated with this disease and it’s not an easily detected disease by patient or doctors.

According to a recent French study, excess sodium in the brain could cause MS-related disability in patients. An MRI scan can detect sodium in the brain. Scientists theorize that this sodium could cause the degeneration of the nerve cells that occurs in MS patients. Those with more severe disabilities have been found to have sodium throughout the brain. Those with less sodium have fewer disabilities. The study was published in the Journal Radiology.

This study could help researchers better understand the disease and, hopefully, find new treatments for MS patients in the near future.

There was no mention in any of the reports about eating excessive salt and whether that could play a role in MS symptoms as excessive salt can cause many other health issues:

• Kidneys – Leading to high blood pressure and kidney damage.
• Arteries – Can get clogged up.
• Heart – Raised blood pressure can damage the arteries to the heart thus resulting in a heart attack.
• Brain – Damages to the arteries to the brain leading to a stroke.
• Cognitive Functioning  – Excessive salt has also been found to show signs of cognitive decline

Sources: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/multiple_sclerosis/detail_multiple_sclerosis.htm#203893215

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248047.php

http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/microsites/salt/Home/Whysaltisbad/Saltseffects

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/salt-brain-exercise-cognitive-decline_n_936960.html#s257379&title=Breakfast_Cereals

Image credit: stockphoto dot com

Editor’s Note: Regular guest contributor and entrepreneur, Lisa Buben, does it again by contributing another informative, compelling article to the bleeding edge library at Medtopicwriter. Check out more from Lisa at  Fancy Scrubs.