Wellbeing afternoon: Multiple Sclerosis – a disease involving blood, brains and chamber pots

Wednesday 10th October 2018 3:00PM – 3:50PM
Location/Venue: Parish Church Sidmouth EX10 8LG

Professor Paul Eggleton. University of Exeter Medical School, will discuss the challenge of finding a cure for this disease.

Multiple Sclerosis or MS was first identified in a young woman in Paris 150 years ago, who had a tremor, abnormal eye movements and slurred speech.  About 100 years ago it was discovered that blood vessel in the brains of MS individuals appeared inflamed, then 50 years ago it was proposed that blood cells might enter the brain possibly due to some infection or not and cause damage to nerve cells.

In this talk a number of questions will be answered. What are the possible causes of MS? At what age do you get MS? Are women at risk of getting MS more than men? Is it true you don’t get MS if you live near the equator?  But more importantly, will we ever cure MS? Why are MS and other neurological diseases, such as motor neuron disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease so difficult to treat? Is there a cure around the corner and how do people with MS take control of their condition to give them a better quality of life? Prof. Eggleton will describe how a large number MS individuals in the South-West use pressurised oxygen chambers to provide symptom relief and how one MS centre in Exeter are helping medical researchers in Devon understand how this treatment.

Free.