This condition causes a wide range of symptoms that can seem unrelated or may be easily misdiagnosed as other conditions. The cause of this illness is still unknown, but as the disease progresses, the immune system begins to attack the insulating lining of the nerve fibers, called myelin, and eventually attacks the nerve fibers themselves.
This repeated progression leads to the formation of scar tissue - otherwise known as sclerosis, which gives the disease its name - and causes distortion and disruption in the nerve impulses in the brain and spinal cord.
This disease is not an equal opportunity attacker. The Mayo Clinic reports that women are twice as likely to develop MS as their male counterparts, while the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) puts that risk at three times as great. Researchers believe that hormones may play a significant role in the susceptibility to the disease, which would explain the gender discrepancy.
New reports put the risk as much as four times as high for women than men, which is far greater than previously believed. The condition affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide, although it is not contagious or directly inherited.
What Other Factors Play A Role?
While gender is a significant factor in determining one’s risk for MS, other factors, including age (most people are diagnosed with MS between the ages of 20 and 50), ethnicity (MS is most prevalent in Caucasians), and genetics - specifically a family history of MS - may also increase one’s chances of developing the disease.