Chronic diseases can be quite debilitating. A chronic disease is a disease that is long-lasting and can be treated but not cured (Chronic Disease, n.d.). This means that, although the symptoms of the disease may be managed, it will never go away completely. Multiple sclerosis is one of these treatable but incurable diseases. Even with treatment, a person diagnosed with multiple sclerosis will always experience some degree of disability. What is multiple sclerosis? How does it present itself? How can it be treated? These questions will be answered. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the central nervous system (Macallister, 2013). It is an autoimmune disease, meaning a person’s immune system attacks a normal part of their body,
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This is the case for all autoimmune diseases; it’s hard to determine what causes one’s immune system to turn on itself. Saunders states that one theory is that a virus triggers the immune system dysfunction, leading to MS. There also appears to be a genetic factor, though it is not a hereditary disease. She claims that about 10-20% of people with MS can identify others in their extended family with the disease. It isn’t a direct link, but it’s also a higher percentage than expected if by pure chance (Saunders, 2011). It is widely agreed that MS is a multifactorial disease, meaning that multiple things have to happen in a person’s body for the disease to develop, not one specific causal factor (Ward-Abel, …show more content…
The introduction of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in the 1990s has vastly improved the outlook for people diagnosed with MS (Ward-Abel, 2014). There was finally a way to improve the quality of life for people suffering from this disease. Lily (2006) reported a study that claimed these DMTs reduced the number of relapses in a given time by nearly a third. According to Ward-Abel, the current injectable DMTs are interferon beta 1a (Avonex and Rebiff), interferon beta 1b (Betaferon and Extavia), and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) (2014). These are considered the first-line treatments, meaning these would come before any other
This is the case for all autoimmune diseases; it’s hard to determine what causes one’s immune system to turn on itself. Saunders states that one theory is that a virus triggers the immune system dysfunction, leading to MS. There also appears to be a genetic factor, though it is not a hereditary disease. She claims that about 10-20% of people with MS can identify others in their extended family with the disease. It isn’t a direct link, but it’s also a higher percentage than expected if by pure chance (Saunders, 2011). It is widely agreed that MS is a multifactorial disease, meaning that multiple things have to happen in a person’s body for the disease to develop, not one specific causal factor (Ward-Abel, …show more content…
The introduction of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in the 1990s has vastly improved the outlook for people diagnosed with MS (Ward-Abel, 2014). There was finally a way to improve the quality of life for people suffering from this disease. Lily (2006) reported a study that claimed these DMTs reduced the number of relapses in a given time by nearly a third. According to Ward-Abel, the current injectable DMTs are interferon beta 1a (Avonex and Rebiff), interferon beta 1b (Betaferon and Extavia), and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) (2014). These are considered the first-line treatments, meaning these would come before any other