Like all other medical conditions, multiple sclerosis triggers physiological changes in the body. The pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis entails studying all those changes in the normal biochemical, physical and mechanical processes of the body that are attributable to MS.
Multiple Sclerosis Pathophysiology from Conventional and Alternative Perspectives
Conventional medicine describes multiple sclerosis as an autoimmune condition. This means that the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis emphasizes the immune system’s inability to recognize normal nervous tissue as healthy bodily tissue, and its subsequent efforts to attack this tissue as if it were a foreign presence in the body. Alternative medical approaches suggest different explanations of multiple sclerosis, including the view that its primary cause is not actually autoimmunity. This latter perspective emphasizes autoimmunity as a symptom of a larger, systemic condition. This condition may in turn be triggered by malnutrition, by exposure to certain pathogens, or by other factors, depending on the perspective being propounded.
The Role of Progressive Demyelination in MS Pathophysiology
Regardless of how one theorizes the origins of multiple sclerosis, it is possible to agree on the observed and measurable changes in the appearance and function of the tissue affected by the condition. One of these changes, and therefore, an important part of the discussion of the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis is attention to the fact that it is nervous tissue which is affected. As multiple sclerosis progresses, the protective sheath of the neurons, which is known as myelin, is destroyed. Typically, when any tissue is destroyed, the body sets into action processes to repair or replace this tissue. The repair of the damaged myelin progresses relatively well during the initial stages of MS. Hence, patients who suffer flare ups then often recover substantially or even fully from their symptoms.
In the later stages of the disease, the damage is more extensive and progresses faster than it can be repaired. Hence, the patient does not recover full ability when the attacks go into remission. A scan of the MS patient’s affected nervous tissue should reveal the presence of lesions or scars, particularly in the white tissue in the area of the optical nerve, brain stem, cerebellum and spinal cord. The lesions are an indication that the body’s attempts to repair demyelinated nerve tissue have failed. They cause the impaired conduction of electrical impulses through the neurons. For this reason, the organs that are served by the affected neurons cease to function properly.
To shed more light on the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis, it is important to pay attention to the behavior of the body’s immune T-cells. During MS, these cells are able to penetrate the damaged blood-brain barrier and to enter brain tissue. They then attack it and cause its inflammation.
