Multiple sclerosis can be hereditary

• April 29, 2024

So far, multiple sclerosis remains idiopathic. This means that its definitive cause has not yet been discovered. However, a variety of probable causes have been found. It is through these that the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis can be established.

To begin with, there is always the hereditary factor, which is present in almost all diseases. For example, if one of our ancestors had multiple sclerosis, there is a great possibility of developing the disease as well.

Apart from the inheritance, according to the researchers, the environment also affects the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. An allergen that is commonly found in the environment could trigger a body response that subsequently generates a depressed immune system.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease

According to research, multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system attacks its own cells, which in this case, destroy the myelin layer that covers the neurons as an insulator inside the brain and bone marrow. spinal, responsible for the transmission of one cell to another. Once the communication between the brain and other parts of the body is interrupted, there is no control in the transmission of the messages from the brain. This is the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis.

Plaques in multiple sclerosis

The progression of the disease correlates with the development of new plaques in the affected parts of the brain. These plaques develop from the demyelinated areas, which are basically the areas around the neurons that no longer have a myelin sheath.

What makes multiple sclerosis more complicated is that the appearance of the plaques has absolutely no pattern. This makes it completely unpredictable.

Inflammation of the myelin sheath

Normal cells are covered by a layer that acts as an insulator, called myelin. This is very useful in the correct transmission of nerve impulses. Once this sheath is damaged by excessive inflammation, multiple sclerosis occurs.

White blood cell count

T cells, which are special subsets of white blood cells, are important in the development of multiple sclerosis. Normally, T cells are able to distinguish between themselves, however, with this, T cells weaken and are not recognized. In fact, in most cases these lymphocytes confuse the cells of the central nervous system as foreign and attack them.

There is a blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​between blood vessels and the brain made up of endothelial cells lining the walls of blood vessels. Since autoreactive T cells tend to cross the BBB and begin to attack healthy cells, they trigger an inflammatory process, leading to multiple sclerosis.

Video Medicine: Genetic Factors In Multiple Sclerosis (April 2024).