What is Multiple Sclerosis? Life Expectancy, Symptoms …

Researchers believe that MS causes the body's immune system to attack myelin, which is an insulating coating around nerve cells.

When myelin erodes, communication between nerve cells in the central nervous system is disrupted. When this happens, some parts of the body do not receive instructions from the central nervous system, which controls everything the body does.

The disease can cause varying symptoms that appear with a wide range of severity, from mild discomfort to complete disability.

Learn the typical progression of MS and what to expect

Multiple sclerosis may appear in several forms. The types of MS include:

Relapsing-remitting: This form of multiple sclerosis comes and goes over time. Symptoms can be severe for a time but then disappear. About 85 percent of multiple sclerosis patients develop onset of the disease in this manner (Murray, T., et al., 2013).

Secondary-progressive: After the initial attack, the disease may begin to progress in a more deliberate way. In this type of MS, symptoms do not subside. Before new therapies were created, about 50 percent of people with multiple sclerosis entered a progressive stage. However, the effectiveness of the new therapies has not been fully evaluated (Murray T., et al, 2013).

Primary-progressive: People who develop this form of the disease generally do so later in life. They decline slowly, without many ups and downs.

Progressive relapsing: In this form of multiple sclerosis, symptoms initially progress slowly but eventually worsen over time.

Multiple sclerosis is very unpredictable. Some people have an initial attack and don't progress. Sometimes, in older people, progression will stop altogether. According to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, it is unclear why the disease affects people in such a variety of ways.

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What is Multiple Sclerosis? Life Expectancy, Symptoms ...