Summary
Multiple sclerosis is a devastating neurological disease that affects more than 400,000 people in the United States and 2.5 million worldwide. Symptoms include abnormal fatigue, impaired vision, hearing problems, loss of balance and muscle coordination, slurred speech, tremors, cognitive problems, partial or complete paralysis, and many other serious difficulties and disorders. Research has revealed a great deal about the possible causes of MS—environmental factors, ethnicity, age, and more—yet it remains one of the most baffling diseases to confront medical science, with an estimated 10,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Today, current diagnostic technology makes it possible to identify symptoms of MS in children as young as one or two years old, but it most commonly strikes people between the ages of 20 and 50.
The Encyclopedia of Multiple Sclerosis provides complete information on this tragic disease in an authoritative, one-volume format. Written for the professional and the layperson alike, this resource contains approximately 500 entries covering the etiology, research, treatment, symptoms, causes, and lifestyle issues related to the disease. Including up-to-date research as well as the history of multiple sclerosis, this volume presents the major and minor issues of the disease in a clear, concise manner. Appendixes include major MS organizations and care centers, information on assistive devices, and more.
Entries include:
- Allergies and MS
- Childhood MS
- Cognitive dysfunction
- Environmental triggers
- Forms of MS
- Immune system and MS
- Occupational therapy
- Symptoms of MS
- Treatment of MS
- Visual problems.