Written for students interested in learning about multiple sclerosis, this book describes how this frequently disabling disease affects patients, exploring its effects on minds, bodies, and daily lives. Written by a professor of medicine who is also personally affected by the disease, Multiple Sclerosis offers an overview of every aspect of the condition. It begins by introducing the central nervous system and describing how multiple sclerosis affects the brain and spinal cord. The author then reviews early understanding of MS, how it was first recognized as a disease, and the discoveries that have helped explain its causes. Moving to contemporary understanding of multiple sclerosis, the book explores the epidemiology of MS in the United States and around the world, describes MS symptoms, and reviews today's treatments and research directions. Perhaps most important, it presents the experiences of persons living with multiple sclerosis, concluding with a discussion of factors affecting these individuals in their homes, families, and communities. A timeline of key discoveries and events relating to MS over the last 500 years Medical drawings and schematics showing causes and possible effects of MS A schematic map of the world showing the gradient of MS prevalence rates