ADVANCES IN RESEARCH & TREATMENT GIVE HOPE TO THOSE AFFECTED BY MS.  THE MONEY WE RAISE GOES DIRECTLY TO HELP PEOPLE WITH MS VIA RESEARCH AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

For more information about MS, visit www.nmss.org or call 215-271-1500

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).  MS causes destruction of myelin, the covering of nerve fibers that connect nerve cells in the central nervous system.  When the myelin is damaged, communication between nerve cells is impacted.  Lesions form where the myelin is damaged, and depending on the number of lesions formed and their location, symptoms like blindness, dizziness and weakness result.  Symptoms vary as the location and severity of damage is variable.

MS is likely an autoimmune disease, one in which the body mistakenly attacks itself, thinking it's attacking a virus, for instance.  MS is NOT contagious. Its course is hard to predict.  Some symptoms may be constant, some may come and go.  The disease may relapse and remit or may be progressive.  Whichever form it takes, its emotional and physical impact can be lifelong. 

Nearly one-half of a million Americans have MS (more than 11,000 in the Greater Delaware Valley alone).  Most people with MS are diagnosed between ages 20 and 40 and more than twice as many women than men have MS.  It is likely there is a genetic link to the disease, with some families more likely to be affected than others.  Great treatment gains have been realized in the last dozen years, thanks in large part to money raised by the National MS Society.  More needs to be done, however, and that's why we ride.