6Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and causes loss of muscle control, virtue, balance, and sensation (such as number sense). The nerves of the brain and spinal cords are damaged in MS due to an individual's own immune system. Thus, the condition is referred to as an autoimmune disease.
The term "autoimmune diseases" refers to conditions where the body's immune system, which normally targets and destroys foreign substances such as bacteria, attacks normal tissues. In MS, the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, the two components of the central nervous system. Other autoimmune diseases include lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
The central nervous system is made up of nerves that function as the body's messenger system. Each nerve is surrounded by a thick substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves and aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, or messages, between the brain and other parts of the body. These messages regulate muscular movements like walking and talking.
MS gеtѕ іtѕ nаmе frоm thе buіlduр оf ѕсаr tіѕѕuе (ѕсlеrоѕіѕ) іn thе brаіn аnd/оr ѕріnаl соrd. When the protective and insulating myelin covering the nerves is removed, a process known as demyelination, the scar tissue or plaques form. Without the myelin, electrical signals traveling through the brain and spinal cord are disrupted or damaged. The brain then loses the ability to send and receive messages. This breakdown in communication is what leads to MS symptoms.