Multiple Sclerosis Essay example -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous governing body. It most commonly occurs in individuals between the ages of twenty and forty (1) and in higher numbers of wo hands than men (2). In Multiple Sclerosis (or MS) a loss of the nerves axon coating medulla prohibits the nerve axons from efficiently conducting action and synaptic potentials. scrape tissue (called plaques or lesions) plaster bandages at the points where demyelination occurs in the brain and spinal cord, thereof the name Multiple Sclerosisor many scars (3). The demyelination found in MS is thought to be caused by an auto resistive process, in which the bodys immune system attacks its own healthy tissue (4). Other diseases thought to bring an autoimmune basis are rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and the insulin dependent form of diabetes mellitus(5). In the immune system, there are two types of white credit line cells, B-cells and T-cells. T-cells exist in three forms, all res ponsible for different immune system responses. Helper T-cells recognize foreign antigens (the substance the immune system aims to destroy), stimulate antibody production, and produce cytokines (chemicals which act as biological messengers) which activate new(prenominal) T-cells. These T-cells are able to recognize antigens through their receptors, made of protein molecules that selectively amaze to certain other molecules. Suppressor T-cells perform a function transposed to that of their helper counterparts, turning off the immune system response. Cytotoxic T-cells right away attack and destroy antigenic material (6). In MS, an unknown spark 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 hand Reported http//www. myelin.org/puppress.html27) EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC 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 ships company http//www.nmss.org/33) MS Gateway http//www.ms-gateway.com/34) MS Gateway Glossary http//www.ms-gateway.com/glossary.html