Bike MS 2019 FIU Miami To Key Largo
Once again The JRX Foundation was there to give support where support was needed. I was a SAG Driver (Support and Gear) . So me and about 10 other drivers were Sheepdogging the amazing riders that help raise money to find a cure for an amazing cause for people affected by this horrible disease..
What is MS ?
The cause of MS is still unknown – scientists believe the disease is triggered by an as-yet-unidentified environmental factor in a person who is genetically predisposed to respond.
The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves an immune-mediated process in which an abnormal response of the body’s immune system is directed against the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.Within the CNS, the immune system causes inflammation that damages myelin — the fatty substance that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers — as well as the nerve fibers themselves, and the specialized cells that make myelin.
- When myelin or nerve fibers are damaged or destroyed in MS, messages within the CNS are altered or stopped completely.
- Damage to areas of the CNS may produce a variety of neurological symptoms that will vary among people with MS in type and severity
- The damaged areas develop scar tissue which gives the disease its name – multiple areas of scarring or multiple sclerosis.
- The cause of MS is not known, but it is believed to involve genetic susceptibility, abnormalities in the immune system and environmental factors that combine to trigger the disease.
- People with MS typically experience one of four disease courses. There are over a dozen treatments to help modify the MS disease process.
Neurons are the structures in the nervous system that allow us to think, see, hear, speak, feel, eliminate and move. Each neuron is made up of a cell body and an axon (the extension of the cell body that carries messages). Most of the axons in the central nervous system are wrapped in myelin, a substance rich in lipids (fatty substances) and proteins. Like the coating around an electrical wire, myelin insulates and protects the axon and helps speed nerve transmission.
Myelin is present in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS); however only the central nervous system is affected by MS. CNS myelin is produced by special cells called oligodendrocytes. PNS myelin is produced by Schwann cells. The two types of myelin are chemically different, but they both perform the same function — to promote efficient transmission of a nerve impulse along the axon.
Abnormal immune reaction believed to attack myelin
In MS, an abnormal immune system response produces inflammation in the central nervous system. This process:
- Damages/destroys myelin and oligodendrocytes
- Causes damage to the underlying nerve fiber
- Produces damaged areas (lesions or scars) along the nerve, which can be detected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Slows or halts nerve conduction – producing the neurologic signs and symptoms of MS
Research efforts underway to stimulate myelin repair
Scientists have discovered that the body heals some lesions naturally by stimulating oligodendrocytes in the area — or by recruiting young oligodendrocytes from further away — to begin making new myelin at the damaged site. However, this natural repair process is slow and incomplete. Scientists are investigating several different strategies for stimulating the repair of myelin, including testing existing drugs, finding ways to stimulate oligodendrocytes to produce myelin, and ways to protect oligodendrocytes and myelin from further damage.
Source The MS Society.. Click Here To View The MS Web Site…
