Multiple Sclerosis - What Is It?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurologic disorder that disables young adults. It is not contagious.
If you have MS, you may have symptoms like numbness or tingling, weakness, or unsteady walking. After an attack, the symptoms may go away or they may stay. They may slowly get worse over time without any quick or sudden changes. It is hard to predict how bad the disorder may get. There are many differences from one person to another.
In general, MS is not life threatening. The life span of those with MS is only slightly less than the general public.
The disorder affects at least 300,000 people in the United States. The average age of diagnosis is 30. Sometimes the condition appears in children or in older adults. At least twice as many women suffer from the disorder than men. It is more common in Caucasian people than other races. The number of people with MS increases the farther they live from the equator.
An estimated 55,000-75,000 Canadians have multiple sclerosis. Prevalence rates range from one MS case per 500 people to one in 1,000 across the country. Canada is a high risk area for the disease, which occurs more often in countries, like Canada that are further away from the equator. The MS Society estimates, based on current prevalence rates, that approximately 1,000 new cases of MS are diagnosed each year, which means three more people are diagnosed with MS everyday in Canada.