Multiple sclerosis (MS) is still a mystery to the scientific world. While there are various methods of treatment, from medication to electrical brain stimulation procedures, there is still no cure. The disease is an autoimmune illness, which attacks a protective coating in the brain and spinal cord, disturbing nerves and exposing them. This does not allow those nerves to work properly anymore, and some may stop working altogether.

Cracking The Code:

While the reason that the disease attacks certain individuals has yet to be revealed, the medical community is continuing their research to find a cure, and some multiple sclerosis causes have been identified in terms of what heightens the risks in some individuals over others.

One of the few answers that is clear in the research that have been performed so far, is that genetics may be at fault. People who have a family history of multiple sclerosis are more commonly found to acquire the disease. In some cases, siblings are both born with MS, but may not know it until much later in life.

Other factors which increase chances of MS include age, as the disease generally strikes people over the age of 15 but under the age of 60. Women are also more likely to obtain the disease than their male counterparts; another mysterious factor with no reasonable answer. Also, Caucasians tend to develop the disease more frequently than any other ethnicity.

Sometimes, the underlying multiple sclerosis causes have little to do with genetics or age, and everything to do with environment. For example, MS is more common among those who smoke cigarettes.

Caused By Damage:

Another explanation for the disease, which some scientists lean toward in trying to define multiple sclerosis causes is an infection. People who have been infected in the past by mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr, Herpes, or Measles viruses are at a higher risk of developing MS than those who have not come into contact with these viruses. The reason for this suspicion is based on the study of many viruses and how they also damage myelin, the substance which MS destroys on nerve cells.

Certain bacteria are also being investigated in relation to the infection theory in the hope that it may provide more answers in regards to prevention. Something that has shown promise in this area is a study which concluded that those who get more vitamin D are at a lower risk of developing MS than those who are deficient in the vitamin. This may be why individuals in warmer, more tropical countries are less likely to have multiple sclerosis.

Diagnosis:

During the diagnosis process, which takes place with a neurologist and MRI scans of the brain, your doctor may be able to give you more information regarding your specific case. Each case of MS differs from the next, with varying symptoms and varying areas of the brain being affected. Your physician may not be able to tell you the exact cause of the disease, but he or she may be able to verify a few factors that had put you at a higher risk than others.