Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Diseases
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- Written by R. Adam Quigley
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Diseases of the nervous system are called different names depending on which tissues of the nervous system are affected and what nature of injury occurs. When inflammation occurs for no clear reason within the brain, optic nerves, or spinal cord, the term "demyelinating disease" is used. Demyelinating refers to the affecting of the white matter of the brain. This tissue contains the connections between parts of the brain and spinal cord. Examples of these illnesses named after certain parts of the nervous system include optic neuritis, which involves the nerves to the eyes, and transverse myelitis, which involves the spinal cord in varying degrees. When these illnesses recur or continuously worsen over time, or affect additional regions of the nervous system, they are called multiple sclerosis. Sclerosis simply means a scar in the brain from the injury.
In these illnesses, immune cells enter the brain because they perceive an abnormality. This abnormality may false, may be a mistake, or it can be due to the presence of an unknown microbe in small degrees. Regardless, the immune cells cause substantial injury on entry into the brain tissue, resulting in local disruption of function, which may be experienced as various problems.
Multiple sclerosis often means a different experience for every individual who has it. It is usually a disabling disease, even when it starts as a mild illness. This illness does not usually cause someone to die.
Ultrahigh-field strength, T1-weighted magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition and multiple gradient echoes (MPRAGE) is highly sensitive for detecting multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques within the white and gray brain parenchyma, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives... 
Cannabis-based medicinal products, such as Sativex, could soon be available to sufferers of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other medical conditions on prescription.
One in a lakh Indians is thought to suffer from multiple sclerosis, a life-long disorder of the nervous system. Support groups are lobbying to bring the disease under the Disability Act, and are fighting for insurance cover.
