What is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affects the central nervous system, which controls the body’s actions.
Myelin surrounds every nerve fibre in the central nervous system and helps messages travel quickly from the brain to the rest of the body. With multiple sclerosis the myelin becomes damaged, disrupting the transfer of these messages.
There are three main types of multiple sclerosis. These are relapsing remitting MS, secondary progressive MS and primary progressive MS.
How common is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis is the most common neurological condition in young adults in the UK. The disease can occur at any age but usually begins between 20 and 40 years of age. Around 100,000 people are affected by MS in the UK. Women are twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis as men.
What are the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis?
The most common symptoms of multiple sclerosis include numbness and tingling, blurred vision, mobility and balance problems, and muscle weakness and tightness. Not everyone has all of these symptoms.
How is Multiple Sclerosis treated?
Multiple sclerosis cannot be cured, but there are medicines to help you manage the symptoms of the condition, such as depression, incontinence and pain. Sufferers should have access to specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists to ease their symptoms.
If access to Specialist Treatment centres is important, choose a policy with London Hospital coverage.