The Causes and Effects of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is, by definition a “chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and of muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.” (Oxford Dictionaries, Multiple Sclerosis). We have an understanding of the immune system, whose purpose is to protect the body and fight against diseases. With multiple sclerosis, the immune system does not perform its job, but instead, attacks the body resulting in varying levels of damage to the body. The effects of multiple sclerosis are seen as the result of occurrences taking place at a more molecular level. “If an axon loses myelin, it still lacks sodium channel in the areas previously covered with myelin, and most action potentials die out between one node and the next” (Kalat, p.44-45). Multiple sclerosis will present itself with a wide array of …show more content…
I was told that if my lesions and symptoms worsened, I could be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The thought of having to wait until I displayed more severe symptoms, like cognitive struggles and difficulty moving, in order to be diagnosed, was terrifying. Within my family, I constantly felt the need to act unaffected so as to help others cope better with this reality. There was even tension with my grandmother, the person whose temperament is most similar to mine. Her constant reminders -albeit well intentioned- that everything was fine made me feel as though my health concerns had been silenced, even belittled. "How could nothing be wrong," I wondered in frustration, when my brain scans showed otherwise? Ultimately, though, her optimism inspired my own. I refused to let the possibility of an illness restrain me psychologically, because only then would I have fallen victim to my situation and lost
Multiple sclerosis is, by definition a “chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and of muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.” (Oxford Dictionaries, Multiple Sclerosis). We have an understanding of the immune system, whose purpose is to protect the body and fight against diseases. With multiple sclerosis, the immune system does not perform its job, but instead, attacks the body resulting in varying levels of damage to the body. The effects of multiple sclerosis are seen as the result of occurrences taking place at a more molecular level. “If an axon loses myelin, it still lacks sodium channel in the areas previously covered with myelin, and most action potentials die out between one node and the next” (Kalat, p.44-45). Multiple sclerosis will present itself with a wide array of …show more content…
I was told that if my lesions and symptoms worsened, I could be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The thought of having to wait until I displayed more severe symptoms, like cognitive struggles and difficulty moving, in order to be diagnosed, was terrifying. Within my family, I constantly felt the need to act unaffected so as to help others cope better with this reality. There was even tension with my grandmother, the person whose temperament is most similar to mine. Her constant reminders -albeit well intentioned- that everything was fine made me feel as though my health concerns had been silenced, even belittled. "How could nothing be wrong," I wondered in frustration, when my brain scans showed otherwise? Ultimately, though, her optimism inspired my own. I refused to let the possibility of an illness restrain me psychologically, because only then would I have fallen victim to my situation and lost