Multiple Sclerosis  Pretoria (Tshwane), JHB, Cape town South Africa RSA

A disorder of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) involving decreased nerve function associated with the formation of scars on the covering of nerve cells

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects approximately 1 out of 1,600 people. Women are affected about 60% of the time. The disorder most commonly begins between 20 to 40 years old. MS is one of the major causes of disability in adults under age 65.

Multiple sclerosis involves repeated episodes of inflammation of nervous tissue in any area of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The location of the inflammation varies from person to person and from episode to episode. The inflammation destroys the covering of the nerve cells in that area ( myelin sheath). This leaves multiple areas of scar tissue (sclerosis) along the covering of the nerve cells. Sclerosis slows or blocks the transmission of nerve impulses in that area, resulting in the development of the symptoms of MS.

Symptoms vary because the location and extent of each attack varies. There is usually a stepwise progression of the disorder, with episodes that last days, weeks, or months alternating with times of reduced or no symptoms (remission). Recurrence (relapse) is common.

The exact cause of the inflammation associated with MS is unknown. Geographic studies indicate there may be an environmental factor involved with MS. It has a higher incidence in northern Europe, northern United States, southern Australia, and New Zealand than in other areas of the world. There seems to be a familial tendency toward the disorder, with higher incidence in certain family groups than in the general population. An increase in the number of immune cells in the body of a person with MS indicates that there may be a type of immune response that triggers the disorder. The most frequent theories about the cause of multiple sclerosis include a virus-type organism, an abnormality of the genes responsible for control of the immune system, or a combination of both factors.

Risks include a family history of MS and living in a geographical area with a higher incidence rate for MS.                               

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1997

Virus linked to multiple sclerosis

by Robert Cooke
Newsday

Medical sleuths seeking the cause of multiple sclerosis suspect they have found a culprit: the common virus called herpes virus 6, the cause of a childhood roseola.

Although not absolutely certain, the evidence linking a reactivated form of the virus (HHV-6) to multiple sclerosis is growing stronger, researchers said yesterday. Live virus was recently found in a large percentage of MS patients studied, and a study of brain tissue found the virus in damaged parts of the brain.

"We've suspected a possible role for a virus in MS for quite some time," said viral immunologist Steven Jacobson, chief of the viral immunology section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS. "And these results certainly point to this particular virus."

Jacobson was careful to warn, however, that his new results do not show a direct cause-and-effect relationship. It's also possible that the virus emerges as a result of the disease, rather than being a cause.

Steven Reingold, vice president for research at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, agreed: "This is a little bit of evidence indicating it is a promising lead. But they have by no means demonstrated that HHV-6 is a cause of MS or a trigger for MS."

If the virus is a cause, the discovery will give researchers a head start toward finding effective drugs.

The latest report, from Jacobson's team at the NINDS, in Bethesda, Md., was published yesterday in the journal Nature Medicine. The researchers report finding live virus in the blood of 30 percent of the 50 MS patients tested. Another 47 persons who did not have MS were also tested, and none had signs of live herpes virus 6.

Scientists and doctors have long suspected that some environmental agent - an infection or exposure to some dangerous chemical - must be involved in triggering the disease. Outbreaks seem to occur in specific areas, such as the Florida Keys, perhaps as a result of introduced infections.

It is also becoming clear that genetics play an important role in determining who gets MS. It seems some people are born with a predisposition triggered by an event such as herpes infection.

"If the HHV-6 virus is really behind MS, then we need to know why infection with such a common virus causes disease in so few people," Jacobson said.

The virus is so common, in fact, that about 90 percent of the population gets infected during the childhood years.

MS, which afflicts about 350,000 Americans, is usually diagnosed in people between ages 20 and 40. It is characterized by declining muscle strength, vision problems and a variety of other neurological symptoms. There are two forms - the relapsing/remitting type and the chronic type that steadily worsens. Women are more often victims than men.

Our healer quite believes in Dr H. Clark research regarding Parasite connection and MS and believes alternative treatment can stop progressing MS if it started early.

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