What is MS?

• MS is a life-long, unpredictable and often disabling disease of the central nervous system.
• It causes unpredictable symptoms ranging from weakness and fatigue to total paralysis, which can wax and wane in a variety of patterns.
• MS is a disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin coating of nerve fibers in the central nervous system, as well as the nerve fibers themselves. this interferes with the brain's ability to send and receive messages.
• MS affects more than 8,500 Coloradoans, 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
• Three-quarters of the people with MS are women. · Every hour in the United States, another person is diagnosed with MS.
• The average onset of symptoms is between 30 and 35 years old. Most people are diagnosed with MS during the prime of life years, ages 20-50.
• There are now disease-modifying drugs to help slow the course of the disease in most individuals.
• $1,400 per year: The average amount a person with MS spend on home and auto modifications due to their disability.
• $2 million per person: the average lifetime cost of having MS.
• There is no known cause for MS, and there is no cure.   

Source: National MS Society