EDSS
EDSS stands for Expanded Disability Status Scale. The EDSS is used in MS research to measure disability levels in a variety of functional systems, such as balance, touch, vision, bowel and bladder control, or mood.
Efficacy (Effectiveness)
The extent to which a specific intervention, procedure, or regimen produces a beneficial result under ideal conditions.
Electrical impulses
In the body, electrical impulses travel among the nerves, carrying messages or signals.
Electroencephalography (EEG)
A diagnostic procedure that records, via electrodes attached to various areas of the person's head, electrical activity generated by brain cells.
Electromyography (EMG)
A diagnostic procedure that records muscle electrical potentials through a needle or small plate electrodes. The test can also measure the ability of peripheral nerves to conduct impulses.
Evoked potentials
A testing method that measures electrical activity in the CNS.
The appearance of new symptoms or the aggravation of old ones, lasting at least 24 hours (synonymous with attack, relapse, flare-up, or worsening).
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The US federal agency that is responsible for enforcing governmental regulations pertaining to the manufacture and sale of food, drugs, and cosmetics. Its role is to prevent the sale of impure or dangerous substances. Any new drug that is proposed for the treatment of MS must be approved by the FDA.
Foot drop
A condition of weakness in the muscles of the foot and ankle, caused by poor nerve conduction, which interferes with a person's ability to flex the ankle and walk with a normal heel-toe pattern. The toes touch the ground before the heel, causing the person to trip or lose balance.
Gadolinium
A chemical compound that can be administered to a person during MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to help distinguish between new lesions and old lesions in the C NS (Central nervous system).
Genetic factors
In multiple sclerosis (MS), genetic factors may play a role in causing the disease. This means that there may be an increased risk of the disease if a close family member has MS.
Helper T lymphocytes
White blood cells that are a major contributor to the immune system's inflammatory response against
myelin.Hemiparesis
Weakness of one side of the body, including one arm and one leg.
Hemiplegia
Paralysis of one side of the body, including one arm and one leg.
Immune system
A complex system of various types of cells that protects the body against disease-producing organisms and other foreign invaders.
Immunoglobulin
Proteins of the immune system that are soluble (dissolved) in blood serum or other body fluids. Immunoglobulin or Antibodies are produced to fight off bacteria, viruses, and other types of foreign
antigens.Immunomodulatory
Capable of modifying or regulating one or more immune functions.
Immuno-suppression
In MS, a treatment that slows or inhibits the body's natural immune responses, including those directed against the body's own tissues.
Incidence
The number of new cases of a disease in a specified population over a defined period of time.
Inflammation
A tissue's response to injury. Inflammation is characterized by mobilization of white blood cells and antibodies, swelling, and fluid accumulation.
Insulin
A hormone that helps the body use glucose (sugar) for energy. The beta cells of the pancreas (in areas called the islets of Langerhans) make the insulin.
Inflammation
The body’s response to insult or injury resulting in increased blood flow with swelling, tenderness, redness, and/or heat.
Interferon
A group of immune system proteins, produced and released by cells infected by a virus, which inhibit viral multiplication and modify the body's immune response. These proteins are made in the body to help boost the body’s immune system and keeps a virus from multiplying. Synthetic forms of interferon are used in making interferon therapy. One of the interferons, interferon beta-1b (Betaseron) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993 for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. It was found in a clinical trial to reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations by approximately 30%. A second interferon, interferon beta-1a (Avonex®) has also been shown to reduce the frequency and severity of MS exacerbations in people with relapsing-remitting disease. Avonex® was approved for use in MS in 1996.
Intramuscular (IM) injection
Injection with a longer needle that is given deep into the muscle
Intravenous
Meaning within a vein—the term is often used in the context of an injection into a vein.