100,000 in UK suffering from the disease

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the brain and spinal cord. In MS, the coating that protects the nerves (myelin) is damaged, and this causes a range of symptoms.

Once diagnosed, MS stays with a person for life, but treatments and specialists can help you to manage the condition and its symptoms. More than 100,000 people in the UK have MS. People are most likely to be diagnosed with MS in their 40s and 50s.

In Relapsing Remitting MS, people have distinct attacks of symptoms which then fade away either partially or completely. Around 85% of people with MS are diagnosed with this type.

In relapses, symptoms usually come on over a short period of time — over hours or days. They often stay for a number of weeks, usually four to six, though this can vary from very short periods of only a few days to many months. Relapses can vary from mild to severe. At their worst, acute relapses may need hospital treatment, but many relapses are managed at home.

People often make a very good recovery from a relapse, with complete remission. However, this is not always the case and around half of all relapses may leave some lingering problems, however slight.

This is because, if the damage to myelin is severe, then some symptoms remain, though they may still improve over the following months.

Information from the MS Society UK website. For further information go to www.mssociety.org.uk