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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers your nerves. This interferes with the communication between your brain and the rest of your body. Ultimately, this may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process that's not reversible.
Symptoms vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and which particular nerves are affected. People with severe cases of multiple sclerosis may lose the ability to walk or speak. Multiple sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose early in the course of the disease, because symptoms often come and go — sometimes disappearing for months.
Although multiple sclerosis can occur at any age, it most often begins in people between the ages of 20 and 40. Women are more likely to develop multiple sclerosis than are men.
- Multiple sclerosis: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/multiple_sclerosis/detail_multiple_sclerosis.htm. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Olek MJ. Epidemiology, risk factors and clinical features of multiple sclerosis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Noseworthy JH, et al. Multiple sclerosis. In: Goetz CG, et al. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/106141078-3/0/1488/405.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3618-0..10048-7--s0030_4069. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Olek MJ. Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- Olek MJ. Treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- Fatigue. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/symptoms/fatigue/index.aspx. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- Exercise. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/living-with-multiple-sclerosis/healthy-living/exercise/index.aspx. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- You can ... beat the heat. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/living-with-multiple-sclerosis/you-can/beat-the-heat/index.aspx. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- You can ... maintain good nutrition. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/living-with-multiple-sclerosis/you-can/maintain-good-nutrition/index.aspx. Accessed Oct. 2, 2008.
- Weinshenker BG (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 3, 2008.
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