Ms and Its Symptoms
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Multiple Sclerosis and its Symptoms
Jessica Emerson
GEN 200
April 21, 2010
Dr. Faith Davis
Multiple Sclerosis and its Symptoms
Every day Americans see their doctors and are devastated by the news they receive. The medical field has made amazing discoveries in curing many of these diseases. There are some that leave doctors wondering which prescription will help the patient get the most out of life and leaves patients wondering what the futures holds. Multiple sclerosis is one of the many incurable diseases, but with proper tests and finding symptoms, it can be diagnosed earlier and controlled better.
In the most general terms, multiple sclerosis (MS) is an attack on the nervous system, affecting the brain, spine, and other nerves. It affects the nerves by destroying the casing around the nerve, causing scar tissue to be left behind. Although this disease isn’t hereditary, it can be passed from generation to generation. For example, if a mother and/or father get diagnosed with MS, their children have a higher chance of getting the disease. MS is more prominent in women over men, at a ratio of 60% women to 40% men (Volpenhein, 2004).
Symptoms of MS show up at different times and are different from patient to patient. Some of the more common symptoms include: weaknesses in arms and legs, unusual tiredness, less endurance, and limbs going numb followed by a burning sensation. Other symptoms include blurry sight, bad coordination, and unable to control bladder or need to urinate more often. As stated before, symptoms vary from patient to patient, but if someone believes they are showing symptoms of MS, they should get to a doctor for additional tests (Volpenhein, 2004).
MS is very hard to diagnose and requires a multitude of tests. The first test performed is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patient’s brain. A common sign of MS is lesions on the brain and/or brain stem and running the MRI will allow the doctor to see if the...
Jessica Emerson
GEN 200
April 21, 2010
Dr. Faith Davis
Multiple Sclerosis and its Symptoms
Every day Americans see their doctors and are devastated by the news they receive. The medical field has made amazing discoveries in curing many of these diseases. There are some that leave doctors wondering which prescription will help the patient get the most out of life and leaves patients wondering what the futures holds. Multiple sclerosis is one of the many incurable diseases, but with proper tests and finding symptoms, it can be diagnosed earlier and controlled better.
In the most general terms, multiple sclerosis (MS) is an attack on the nervous system, affecting the brain, spine, and other nerves. It affects the nerves by destroying the casing around the nerve, causing scar tissue to be left behind. Although this disease isn’t hereditary, it can be passed from generation to generation. For example, if a mother and/or father get diagnosed with MS, their children have a higher chance of getting the disease. MS is more prominent in women over men, at a ratio of 60% women to 40% men (Volpenhein, 2004).
Symptoms of MS show up at different times and are different from patient to patient. Some of the more common symptoms include: weaknesses in arms and legs, unusual tiredness, less endurance, and limbs going numb followed by a burning sensation. Other symptoms include blurry sight, bad coordination, and unable to control bladder or need to urinate more often. As stated before, symptoms vary from patient to patient, but if someone believes they are showing symptoms of MS, they should get to a doctor for additional tests (Volpenhein, 2004).
MS is very hard to diagnose and requires a multitude of tests. The first test performed is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patient’s brain. A common sign of MS is lesions on the brain and/or brain stem and running the MRI will allow the doctor to see if the...