Chapter One Introduction

Introduction

The myelin sheath is a modified, extended plasma membrane that

is wrapped in a spiral fashion around a portion of an axon in the human
central nervous system (Morell, et al., 2013). The main function of a
myelin sheath is to increase the speed at which impulses promulgate along
the myelinated fiber (Daniel, 2008). Demyelination is the loss of the
myelin sheath insulating the nerves, and is the hallmark of some
neurodegenerative autoimmune diseases, including multiple
sclerosis(Ledeen, et al., 1998).

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory

disease of the central nervous system characterized by demyelination and
axonal loss. Symptoms of MS involve disturbances of vision, motor and
sensory systems, coordination, balance, bowel/bladder/sexual, and
cognition. It is the commonest cause of serious physical disability in adults
of working age. (Christian, et al., 2014).

The clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) can be divided

into four different disease phenotypic courses: (1) relapsing remitting MS
(RRMS); (2) primary-progressive MS (PPMS); (3) secondary-progressive
MS (SPMS); and (4) progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS),eighty five to
ninety percentage of MS patients are initially diagnosed with RRMS
(Markowitz, 2013).

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Chapter One Introduction

Though the reasons of MS are unknown, many studies show that there are
several factors that can cause the MS. These factors are, on the one hand,
the immune and genetic factors (Correale and Farez, 2009), and on the
other hand, the environmental risk factors such as smoking and Vit-D
deficiency (Lundstrom, et al., 2013).

Aims of the study:

The study aims at:

1. Clarifying the MS disease and investigating its symptoms,

classifications, and diagnosis because of its spreading around the
world.
2. Investigating the immune and genetic aspects of MS as well as the
other environmental risk factors.
3. Investigating the ways of MS treatments and therapies either by
plasma exchange, or (plex) or by the use of disease-modifying drugs
(DMDs).
4. Studying the MS disease to reduce its effects on human life and to
decrease its occurrence as well as finding effective treatment drugs
and therapies for treating the disease.