another question

[shel67]

I know I'm gonna drive everyone crazy with these questions.

Can an attack be caused by the immune system trying to fight off a illness you've come in contact with? Like you fought off the flu but MS attacking you was the result.

[JerryD]

Your guess is as good as mine. I only know that my immune system is 'overactive' with respect to the myelin of my nerves have been attacked by my system.

[SNOOPY]

The Myelin Sheath is the protective coating surrounding our nerves. Our immune system detects Myelin as foreign and attacks. Our immune system is "confused" (compromised).

If you end up with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis it is important to understand there is still much unknown about this disease. MS as an autoimmune disease is still a theory, however, it is the longest standing theory about this disease.

[shel67]

So science only thinks it's auto immune and doesn't know for sure?

[22cyclist]

Probably not, but it can be set off by the illness itself and that is called a pseudo-exacerbation meaning not real, but it feels real. It feels just like a regular exacerbation but does no damage to the central nervous system. Other things that can do that are:

Fevers
Hot Days
Hot Baths
Viruses
Infections anywhere in the body

Its good you are asking questions, ask away!

Take care
Lisa

[22cyclist]

Exacerbations or Flares that is (the "it" in the post above.)

Lisa

[jreagan70]

So science only thinks it's auto immune and doesn't know for sure?

Not exactly. There's about 60 years of proof that shows that auto-immunity is a large component of MS. The proof of that part is easily repeatable in a laboratory and there's no doubt about it.

What isn't known yet are all of the other components that go into the process of auto-immunity and what other chemical and genetic processes are involved and how all the parts interact to produce the condition that's been classified as MS.

The treatments for MS are based on intervening in the parts of the process that are known.