What do you know about MS?
Dr. Garry Wheeler of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada joined us on Tuesday to teach us about MS. Prior to Dr. Wheeler’s role as Vice President with the MS Society of Canada, he taught at a very famous school in England depicted below [totally cool, but not relevant].
Now back on topic. Multiple Sclerosis or MS for short is an autoimmune disease. Essentially, “multiple scars” which infers to the multiple and varying areas within the brain that can be affected which in turn shows itself differently for many individuals. At this time there is no known cause and no cure for the disease that affects one in every 270 Albertans. It is thought that MS is a combination of genetic, environmental and viral factors. It was interesting to hear that Canada has one of the highest prevalence rates in the world along with Scandinavia and some European countries. A newer treatment is high doses of Vitamin D which would explain why Canada is affected more than other countries. Women are also three times more likely to develop MS than men and it traditionally rears its ugly head for people between the ages of 15 to 40 years – again, affecting people at their prime.
There have been wonderful advances in the medical world for people suffering from MS with medications that help decrease the rate and relapses of the disease as well as treatment of symptoms. Dr. Wheeler spoke on the physiological aspects of the disease and how some individuals would wake up one morning and are unable to walk, but there is much more. There are the psychological and neurological challenges that also come with the disease that are sometimes hidden, such as depression and cognitive functions.
Since the cause of MS is still unknown and it affects each person differently, there is a huge amount of uncertainty for people affected by the disease and its trajectory: Will I be able to work in 10 years? How will I provide for my family? What do I do now? Will I be able to walk tomorrow?
The mission of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is: To be a leader in finding a cure for multiple sclerosis and enabling people affected by MS to enhance their quality of life. Services provided by the MS Society of Canada include advocacy, information, education, support, children’s programs, social events and more. Now you know a little more about MS and remember - May is MS Awareness Month.