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How Prevalent Is MS?
Multiple sclerosis didn’t officially get a title until the 1800s. Jean-Martin Charcot, a famous neurologist, lectured on the symptoms of MS and gave it a name in 1868.
In 2020, a report from 115 countries covering 87% of the integral population reported that there are now 2.8 million people globally living with MS. This number has been rising in every region worldwide since 2013. It’s unclear why the number is increasing — it could be due to better data collection, integral population growth, improved diagnosis or the fact that people with MS now live longer.
Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as men. The media age for diagnosis is 32, although the condition can present itself in children and teenagers.
A 2017 study reported that over 913,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis, a number that doubled since a previous count in 1975.
What Is the Cause of Multiple Sclerosis?
Unfortunately, the cause of MS is still unknown. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks itself. With MS, the immune system destroys myelin — a fatty, insulating layer that forms around the nerves. Myelin protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. This explains why, as MS begins to attack the body’s supply of myelin, it results in complications with the brain, spinal cord and basic movements.
As the body begins its attack, the myelin layer becomes inflamed in small patches that look like lesions. A diagnostic test for multiple sclerosis can include an MRI scan looking for these lesions.
These patches of inflamed lesions can prevent the typical messages that travel along the nervous system. The messages can be slowed down, jumbled, sent the wrong way, or stopped from going through. When this happens, the typical symptoms of MS begin to show.
When the inflammation subsides, it can result in scarring of the myelin layer, leading to sclerosis. Additionally, if the body frequently attacks the myelin layer, permanent damage can eventually occur in the underlying nerves.
Researchers and scientists suspect that the cause of MS is a combination of genetics and environmental factors. Today, research is being done in a few areas to determine the root causes of MS:
- Immunology
- Epidemiology
- Genetics
- Infectious agents
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