Hello fellow MS'ers
It is a beautiful day today, and I hope all of you are well and pressing forward.
From time to time I will be sharing with you various research information that I come across as it pertains to African Americans and other people of color. I am including in this post some excerpts from and article on this topic:
Ethnic Groups and MS Research

Source: Neurology. 2010 Jul 20; 75(3):217-23. & PMID: 20644149 (28/07/10)
MS develops when myelin, the insulating tissue around neurons in the brain, is attacked by the body's own immune system. "The findings show that ethnic differences in multiple sclerosis extend to the immune response system, which plays a central role in multiple sclerosis," Dr. John R. Rinker, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a statement.

US Ethnic MS Study

A study, supported in part by the National MS Society, comparing the clinical characteristics of MS in African Americans and Caucasian Americans found significant differences between these two groups.
This study found that blacks with MS are more likely to experience a more aggressive course of disease, more likely to develop mobility impairments, and more likely to develop opticospinal MS and transverse myelitis.
While the disease is more likely to afflict Caucasians, it's showing up more and more in minorities. USC researchers hope discovering why minority cases are on the rise will eventually lead to a cure for everyone.
 African-Americans are more likely to have more destruction and a rapid escalation of symptoms. In Asians, the disease tends to affect the optical nerve and motor function.. And Latinos appear to experience a mix of the two.
Source: KABC Los Angeles 2010 KABC-TV/DT (14/05/10)
African/Americans with MS have more severe symptoms, decline faster than whites
Fewer African Americans than Caucasians develop multiple sclerosis (MS), statistics show, but their disease progresses more rapidly, and they don’t respond as to therapies, a study by neurology researchers at University at Buffalo.

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of a cohort of 567 consecutive MS patients showed that blacks with MS had more damage to brain tissue and had less normal white and grey matter compared to whites with the disease. Results of the study appear in the Feb. 16 issue of the journal Neurology.
"Black patients showed more brain tissue damage and accumulated brain lesions faster than whites, along with rapid clinical deterioration," confirms Weinstock-Guttman. "The results provide further support that black patients experience a more severe disease, calling for individualised therapeutic interventions for this group of MS patients." 



"KNOWLEDGE IS POWER," the more knowledge  that we have about MS, the more control of our lives we will have. Know your enemy.

Laughter is the shock absorber that eases life.
             Gas station sign

 

Hello to all of you
I hope that you have been well since the last time that I wrote in this blog. I have had both good and bad days, however each is a blessed day. I am still fighting the good fight and on my own terms in every instant that I can.

Of  all the issues that MS lays on us just by it's self alone, it is doubly tasking when it makes us more susceptible to other conditions. I have had "Sleep Apnea," added to my list of "OMG," not this too. My sleep test was conclusive that sleep apnea is now one of my newest friends, lol. But hey, what are we to do but keep our chins up and deal with what ever comes, to allow ourselves to be overcome is not and option.

The MS walk was on Sunday April 15, I have been participating for the last two years and it has allowed me to push my limits. I like to challenge myself. No more 6 mile runs, but walking is still doable. I'd like to know how many of you participate in the MS walk? Walking, running, scooter, or wheelchair, it's all about living with MS our way, and using whatever means necessary to accomplish those things that we desire.

Until we meet again, take charge of your MS and never allow it to take charge of your life.
You can live life on your own terms...your MS, your way.

Shirley

Quote:
Positive thinking is how you think about a problem.
Enthusiasm is how you feel about a problem.
The two together determine what you do about a problem.
        Rita Pearl Johnson 

Welcome To The My MS My Way Blog!

I'm Shirley and I have MS. MS, multiple sclerosis. The chronic disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) which consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerve. Many of the major parts, if you ask me.

I have relapsing and remitting MS (R/R). My journey began in 1996; however, Iater discovered that I'd had MS for approximately 10 years prior.

MS is found in all ethnicities and affects all genders and ages. Research shows that while Caucasians have the highest percentages of MS cases, African Americans are more severely impacted and less likely to respond to treatment.

In Asians, the disease tends to affect the optic nerve and motor functions. Latinos 

appear to experience a mix of the two.

The symptoms of MS are numerous. Many MS'ers experience fatigue, optic neuritis

(loss of sight, temporarily or permanently), neuropathy pain (constant tingling/pin prick

like pain in your feet and/or hands, spasicity (tight muscles), and depression just to 

name a few.

My MS My Way will focus on the sharing of information about MS, including practical

tips and ideas in dealing with symptoms, the sharing of resources, and providing a soft

landing place to share our journey with laughter and iron clad resolve. And just as 

important, how to not allow MS to shatter our lives. We have to make changes in the     

way that we do things and we can adapt to new ways of coping.

Is there some symptom(s) that you are not sure if it is a part of your MS? Ask your

doctor; he or she can be your best ally in your MS journey. Ask questions no matter

how unsure or silly you might feel.

Connect with MY Brother's Keeper MS Support Group for all people of color blog:

MyMSMYWAy@blogspot.com. And support group meetings are second Thursday of every

month at: Reynolds Corner Library, 4833 Dorr Street Rm. 2; from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Until we meet again, take charge of your MS and never allow it to take charge of your life.

You can live life on your own terms...your MS, your way.


Shirley

Some Irish Wit: May those who love us, love us; and those that don't love us may God turn their hearts, and if He doesn't turn their hearts may He turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping