Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about multiple sclerosis. And you can find written notes on this topic at

zero to finals.com slash MS or in the neurology section of the second edition of the zero to finals medicine book.

And you can find flashcards and questions to train your knowledge on this content

and help you remember the information for longer at members.0tofinals.com.

So let's get straight into it.

Multiple sclerosis or or MS, is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune condition involving demyelination

in the central nervous system. The immune system attacks the myelin sheath of the myelinated neurons, and we'll talk in more

detail about this pathophysiology shortly.

Multiple sclerosis typically presents in young adults in people under the age of 50 years, and

it's more common in women.

So let's talk in more detail about the pathophysiology.

Myelin covers the axons of neurons, of nerve cells, and it helps electrical impulses to travel faster.

It's an important coating on the cables that deliver messages around the body.

Myelin is provided by cells that wrap themselves around the axons,

and these are the oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system

and the sworn cells in the peripheral nervous system.

Multiple sclerosis affects the central nervous system and the oligodendrocytes.

Inflammation and immune cell infiltration caused damage to the myelin,

affecting the electrical signals moving along the neurons.

When a patient presents with symptoms of a multiple sclerosis attack, for example an episode of

optic neuritis, which we'll talk about in more detail shortly, there are often other

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