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DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN M.E. AND M.S.

 

 MS/Multiple Sclerosis

 

 

 MS is thought to be an auto immune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS).

The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibres of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibres conduct electrical impulses.

 

 In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fibre itself is damaged or broken.

 

 Myelin not only protects nerve fibres, but makes their job possible. When myelin or the nerve

fibre is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS.

 

 People with MS can expect one of four clinical courses of disease, each of which might be mild, moderate, or severe.

 

 For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone, it makes life unpredictable.

 

 

 

  ME/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

 

 

 Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is one of fifty names for an illness that has caused suffering since the 1850s. Some other names for this illness are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Chronic

Epstein-Barr Virus Disease, Chronic Fatigue, and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), and Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS). The emphasis is put on 'fatigue'. Chronic means ongoing and therefore refers to a fatigue that is long-lasting.

 

 The term Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is used primarily in North America. Myalgic

Encephalomyelitis (ME) is used in most other countries. It can be best understood when broken down into its individual parts. As you look at the term it becomes clear that the emphasis is on the central nervous system.

 

 

 My - muscle,  algic - pain,  encephalo - brain,  myel - spinal cord,  itis - inflammation

 

 Neither term is satisfactory. People with ME have many other symptoms contributing to their

disability besides fatigue.