Conversant Bio Blog Multiple Sclerosis, Closer to Finding a Cure?

IntroductionImagine that basic abilities such as stable vision, clear thinking, and controlled muscles were suddenly whisked away, leaving you trapped in a chaos of cloudy thought, blurry vision, and muscle tremors. For some people, this existence is not one of terrible imagination- it is a brutal reality. This reality is multiple sclerosis, and it affects 2.5 million people worldwide and 400,000 in the US alone.Modern medicine has made huge strides against it, but there are a number of unknowns still surrounding MS. Chief among these unknowns is the cure for the disease. Like many of the worst chronic illnesses, MS is an autoimmune disease meaning that there is no cure, only rigorous treatment and periods of remission.However, unlike many autoimmune diseases, MS has received quite a bit of focus relatively speaking receiving $870 million in funding for new research which nearly doubles the $480 million the National Institute of Health spends on Alzheimer's research.