MS is a common neurological disease, affecting about
85,000 people in the UK (MS Society, 2003). It is a progressive
disease, although the rate of progression is variable.
It is characterised by episodes of demyelination in
the brain and/or spinal cord. These episodes are disseminated/separated
both in terms of time of occurrence
and area affected and can be recognised as
plaques on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
During an acute attack, there is inflammation, oedema,