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World Multiple Sclerosis Day – 30 May 2022

30 mai 2022
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: brain, dialogue, disease, genes, multiple sclerosis, research, spinal cord, symptoms, treatment

World Multiple Sclerosis Day, falling on May 30, invites dialogue on the disease. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease where the insulating covers of the nervous system are damaged. MS is also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata, and its symptoms include muscle weakness, double vision, and mental/physical problems. Due to the lack of research studies on the disease, the exact causes behind it are generally unknown. Many scientists believe that there might be a connection between the onset of the disease and genes and/or nerve-cell dysfunction. Furthermore, there is no permanent cure as of yet. The symptoms can be relieved using the right set of treatments and medication.

HISTORY OF WORLD MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS DAY

The first World Multiple Sclerosis Day was celebrated in 2009 by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF). MSIF was officially established in 1967 as an international body that coordinated with national MS organizations belonging to many countries like Turkey, Slovakia, India, and the U.S.

The federation aims to bring light to MS and the scientific research related to it. The theme for this year’s World Multiple Sclerosis Day is ‘Connect.’ This theme, which continues from 2020 through 2022, focuses on bringing the world together by forming a connection with each other as well as the self for the sake of better care. MSIF spends the whole month of May and early June spreading awareness and hope about MS through their themed campaigns.

Around 2.8 million people suffer from MS each year. This disease relates to damaged myelin sheaths that cover the nervous system in the spinal cord and brain. The damaged myelin sheaths become covered in lesions or plaques, and this is where the disease gets its name — ‘multiple sclerosis’ means ‘multiple scars.’ MS’s exact causes remain unknown, but some scientists attribute genetics, infectious agents, and cell dysfunction to the disease’s causes. Symptoms include muscle spasms, speech and swallowing problems, coordination and balance issues, depression, mood swings, and so forth. While there’s no permanent cure for MS, ongoing research relates to treating the symptoms with drugs and neuroprotection strategies.

Source: Text: nationaltoday.com    Image: freepik.com

World Day of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -21 June

21 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: ALS, atrophy, brain, cells, death, muscles, neurological disease, respiratory system, spinal cord, symptoms

What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare group of neurological diseases that mainly involve the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, breathing and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt, or reverse, the progression of the disease.

ALS belongs to a wider group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are caused by gradual deterioration (degeneration) and death of motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells that extend from the brain to the spinal cord and to muscles throughout the body. These motor neurons initiate and provide vital communication links between the brain and the voluntary muscles.

Messages from motor neurons in the brain (called upper motor neurons) are transmitted to motor neurons in the spinal cord and to motor nuclei of brain (called lower motor neurons) and from the spinal cord and motor nuclei of brain to a particular muscle or muscles.

In ALS, both the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons degenerate or die, and stop sending messages to the muscles. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weaken, start to twitch (called fasciculations), and waste away (atrophy). Eventually, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control voluntary movements.

Early symptoms of ALS usually include muscle weakness or stiffness. Gradually all muscles under voluntary control are affected, and individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe.

Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear. However, about 10 percent of people with ALS survive for 10 or more years.

Source: Text: NIH Images: Dramstime.com, Fact Retriever