The disease begins when a person’s immune system attacks the coverings of nerve fibers throughout the body. These protective nerve sheaths are called myelin, and they assist with the communication of nerves.
What is multiple sclerosis? By Denise Powell, CNN. Read more here.
One thing I learned from this news article from CNN is that I didn’t know how many famous people had multiple sclerosis (MS). Moreover, it’s quite common among us too. Recent studies showed that our earlier estimates were quite low, the prevalence of MS is double that previously estimated. (You can read more about it at National MS Society.) If the data can be generalized outside the USA, that will mean there are more than 4 million people living with MS among us.
Like many neurological diseases, MS doesn’t have a cure. Physicians do their best to manage the symptoms. I am proud to be working on understanding the myelin in order to help finding a cure for MS. Recently, Kerman Lab got a new grant to identify biomarkers of MS. It’s the result of an innovative approach to using big data. We have some exciting results, which needs to be confirmed. I’ll keep you posted.
