Essay --

â€Å"As of 2012, approximately 400,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with MS, with 10,000 new cases being diagnosed each year. Worldwide, MS affects between 1.5 and 2.5 million people.† (Davidson, Fallon, Slomski & Cataldo, 2013, p. 2228). With statistics like this many people have encountered individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The purpose of this report is to describe in detail this disease and how MRI is the modality of choice to diagnose. The Disease MS is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body’s immune system attacks normal tissue. Immune cells attack and obliterate the myelin sheath that surrounds neurons found in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin is an important component of neurons because it acts as an insulator. Myelin sheaths help electric signals travel efficiently from the brain to areas of the body, and â€Å"speeds transmission and prevents electrical activity in one cell from short-circuiting to another cell† (Davidson et al., 2013, p. 2228). MS attacks these myelin sheaths and disrupts the efficiency of that signal. It can be compared to a radio transmission. When myelin is working properly, one can hear a clear broadcast. However, when myelin is attacked and destroyed the transmission is no longer clear. It is jarbbled, hence, it alters and disrupts the message. When myelin is destroyed it turns into scar tissue called a plaque. This plaque will appear as â€Å"small round areas o f gray neurons without the white myelin covering† (Davidson et al., 2013, p. 2228). Causes There is no known reason to explain why the body starts attacking its own myelin sheaths. Though there has been much research, researchers have not been able to pinpoint a trigger. However, through this resear... ...em, because cortical bone does not produce a signal in MRI. This area is often obscured on CT because of the beam hardening artifact. The use of gadolinium better differentiates and increases sensitivity in detecting lesions. Diffusion-weighted imaging also gives MRI the ability to determine the age of lesions or differentiate acute from chronic ischemic changes (Pierce & Dubose, 2012). In conclusion, MS is a disease affecting many individuals. It can shorten the individual’s lifespan, but many treatment options are available to help cope with the symptoms. MRI is an evolving modality as it was just introduced in the 1990s and many advances have been made in the past couple of years. MRI is more sensitive than CT in detecting changes in the white matter of the brain. That is why MRI is the modality of choice to help diagnose a case of Multiple Sclerosis.