Multiple Sclerosis Essay example -- Biology Essays Research Papers

double SclerosisMultiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It most commonly occurs in individuals between the ages of twenty and forty (1) and in higher numbers of women than men (2). In Multiple Sclerosis (or MS) a loss of the nerves axon lotion myelin prohibits the nerve axons from efficiently conducting action and synaptic potentials. Scar tissue (called plaques or lesions) forms at the points where demyelination occurs in the brain and spinal cord, hence the name Multiple Sclerosisor many scars (3). The demyelination found in MS is thought to be caused by an autoimmune process, in which the bodys immune system attacks its own reasoning(a) tissue (4). Other diseases thought to have an autoimmune basis argon rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and the insulin dependent form of diabetes mellitus(5). In the immune system, there are two types of white blood cells, B-cells and T-cells. T-cells exist in three forms, all responsible for different immune system res ponses. Helper T-cells recognize foreign antigens (the marrow squash the immune system aims to destroy), stimulate antibody production, and produce cytokines (chemicals which act as biological messengers) which activate other T-cells. These T-cells are able to recognize antigens through their receptors, made of protein molecules that selectively bind to certain other molecules. Suppressor T-cells perform a function converse to that of their helper counterparts, turning off the immune system response. Cytotoxic T-cells instanter attack and destroy antigenic material (6). In MS, an unknown trigger activates helper T-cells whose antigen specific receptors recognize central nervous system myelin as an antigen. While what exactly activates these T-cel... ... MS GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY http//www.nmss.org/msinfo/current_research/updates/RMP9620.html25) VIRUSES http//www.nmss.org/cmsi/cmsi18.html26) Remyelination Progress Reported http//www.myelin.org/puppress.html27) EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGI C ENCEPHALOMYELITIS http//www.nmss.org/cmsi/cmsi157.html28) Current Research Updates http//www.nmss.org/msinfo/current_research/updates/summary.html29) Virtual Hospital, Chapter 14 Neurology MS http//www.vh.org/Providers/ClinRef/FPHandbook/Chapter14/08-14.htmlOther WWW Sites30) Knowledge Weavers http//medstat.med.utah.edu/kw/ms/31) World of Multiple Sclerosis http//www.msif.org/language_choice.html32) National Multiple Sclerosis Society http//www.nmss.org/33) MS Gateway http//www.ms-gateway.com/34) MS Gateway Glossary http//www.ms-gateway.com/glossary.html