According to the Mayo Clinic, the cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. It's believed to be an autoimmune disease, in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. In multiple sclerosis, this process destroys myelin — the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.
Myelin can be compared to the insulation on electrical wires. When myelin is damaged, the messages that travel along that nerve may be slowed or blocked.
Doctors and researchers don't understand why multiple sclerosis develops in some people and not others. A combination of factors, ranging from genetics to childhood infections, may play a role. Women are about twice as likely as men are to develop multiple sclerosis. You're very slightly more likely to develop multiple sclerosis if you have thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Having said all that, it seems to me that a generalization of MS is that your body attacks itself. The “wires” that carry our nerve fibers get frayed and short-circuit or disconnect, thus some of the charges that need to be going to the brain don’t make it. Kind of like a traffic jam on the interstate.
To me, there should be a way to declare war on this process! When an electrical wire gets frayed, electrical tape is wrapped around the damaged part and the connection is repaired. Sometimes, the damage is so extensive that another wire is needed and the old one is discarded.
If the medical profession has figured out a way to transplant hearts and lungs, replace tissue and blood vessels, repair teeth and parts of the eye, and many more delicate procedures, why can’t they repair damaged nerve conductors? This, to me, would seem like a simple procedure compared to brain surgery and heart transplants. Maybe it is just me, but wrapping a nerve conductor has got to be easier than brain surgery!
I think we should declare war! If we can’t beat this disease, at least we can join together and give it a good fight!
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