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Archive for the ‘Diseases Multiple Sclerosis’ Category

When the term Multiple Sclerosis is said we often as quick to think about a slow as debilitating degradation of a person into a state that they are not able to live on their own. The truth is that this does not always have to be the case. There are things that a person can do to make their existence better and slow the rate of bodily control loss that they experience. With these tips you can easily extend the time that you can enjoy a high quality of living, even with MS.

You Can Live a Quality Life even with Multiple Sclerosis
One of the first things that you need to do is to assess your lifestyle and see what is not working for the improvement your overall level of health. Once you have this information you need to take action steps to change these things and get yourself to a fitness level that will help you to fight off the ravishing effects of MS. Some of those factors are, eating healthier, lowering stress levels and increasing mental health. IF you are a smoker stop and if have high blood pressure or diabetes get those condition sunder control. The healthier your body is the better equipped you are to fight this disease.

Children and adults with debilitating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) undergo a gradual reduction in their body’s ability to perform voluntary muscular functions. They are slow diseases without cures. Today’s treatment generally consists of medications and techniques to slow down the symptoms of the disease and the degeneration of the body. Scientists are not quite sure what causes these diseases; though there are cases that show that a small number of sufferers may inherit them.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that causes the immune system of your body to consume the protective covering over your nerves. This leads to irreversible nerve damage. The degree and impact of the disease relies on which nerves are affected. The disease can develop at any age, but generally strikes those between 20 and 40 and women over men. Though the effects are fleeting in the beginning, those with MS will experience a gradual deterioration. A positive attitude is just as important to the treatment of the disease as any medical therapies.

Multiple sclerosis is not an uncommon disease. Although genetic makeup has a hand in causing it, geographical location and environmental conditions may affect the onset of the disease as well. Studies show that more Caucasians are suffering from the said disease and the risk of having it is higher for those that are living in the North of the equator. The disease affects the central nervous system and results to loss of insulation around the nerves. It can affect various areas of the body and worse, may lead to paralysis.

The disease is not fatal in itself, but complications may be life threatening. The disease causes immobility and can lead to unfortunate accidents. About 2.5 million people all over the world suffer from this disease, and this includes young people, with more women being affected.

The effects of the disease are both physical and mental. Minor attacks may lead to visual impairment or lack of mobility for the limbs. There are reported cases wherein someone who incurred an attack was able to recover and continually improve. However, this does not mean that the disease will not recur. Sometimes, there can be a second attack which is worse than the first one, and the second attack can lead to rapid deterioration and may lead to complete paralysis. During this stage, the ability of the patient to recover or respond to medication is highly reduced.

Multiple sclerosis presents in various ways and subsequently shows variable disease courses. If we knew early on what the disease course for Multiple Sclerosis would be then we could better target the medication in each individual case. To date it has been unpredictable right from disease onset but, knowing the disease course is of crucial importance in guiding treatment.

Now “The Department of Neurosciences” at Cardiff University has recently been looking into factor H as a biomarker for multiple sclerosis and the findings are promising.

Effective and accessible biomarkers are needed in order to stratify (separate into groups) patients and inform treatment. The team at Cardiff University decided to look into factor H as such a marker. Regulator factor H, has recently been implicated as a biomarker in other chronic inflammatory central nervous system conditions. Could it identify or predict specific pathological processes and outcomes in multiple sclerosis?

Method

They measured factor H in blood serum from 350 patients with multiple sclerosis classified according to disease course and relapse status. Controls were found for variables including disease duration, age, gender, disability and treatment. I have decided not to go into the full method in this document as the details will be somewhat turgid to the average reader. However, the findings are fairly clear and very encouraging.