Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurological disease. It is thought to be an autoimmune disease, which means the immune system attacks healthy areas of the body. In MS, these attacks are aimed at the central nervous system.  The cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not known. Researchers believe the combination of heredity, the immune system, and possibly a virus may play a role in a person developing multiple sclerosis. Individuals may inherit a susceptibility to the disease, but not the disease itself.

The central nervous system is made up of nerves covered by a substance called myelin. Myelin is similar to insulation protecting electrical wires because it surrounds and protects nerve fibers. In MS, attacks are random patches of inflammation that occur sporadically in the brain and/or spinal cord, causing a breakdown of this myelin sheath, a process called demyelination that results in plaques or lesions along the myelin sheath that interfere with nerve conduction.

Most people experience their first multiple sclerosis symptoms or a relapse between the ages of 20 and 40. Symptoms of MS include loss of vision, double vision, stiffness, weakness, imbalance, numbness, pain, problems with bladder and bowel control, fatigue, speech and swallowing difficulties, emotional changes, and intellectual impairment. Each person living with MS may experience a different set of symptoms.

There currently is no cure for MS, but in the last decade there have been treatments discovered for relapsing-remitting MS, the most common type. A good diet, rest, exercise, and drug therapy are all important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle with MS.