By Rob Cohn

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. MS is an autoimmune disease and the body attacks the healthy tissue in the brain. MS may cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech or even bad memory. Some people lose their ability to walk let alone ride a bike. The unpredictability of the disease can present many challenges, including the possibility of facing increasing limitations. Anyone may develop MS but there are some patterns. Two to three times more women than men have been diagnosed with MS.

I am participating in the 2011 MS Coastal Challenge in Ventura, CA because my husband Randy has MS. Every week he has to take an injection of medicine that will hopefully slow down the progression. The side effects that he deals with every week are having symptoms of having the flu, headaches and chills. He has to take over the counter medicine to help counteract the side effects. My wish is that a CURE is found so that people like Randy can live a life without the need for these horrible side effects.

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March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month In the United States. (Canada will celebrate in May.) Although Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be understood as a neurodegenerative disorder, it is defined as an autoimmune disorder because the immune systems of sufferers attack their own central nervous systems, damaging the myelin sheath of neurons. This damage causes miscommunication and missed messages between the brain and the nerves. MS can be a very emotionally heavy diagnosis because it is chronic, there is no known cure, and it a very unpredictable disorder. MS can effect any function controlled by the central nervous system.

Symptoms tend to come episodically without any warning. One day a person with MS may be functioning just fine and the next muscle weakness may inhibit walking. These symptoms can also terminate without any warning. The unpredictable nature can be very stressful, the lack of a cure can be disheartening, and the often degenerative nature of the disorder can be depressing.
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