Education: How does a nerve fire?

We have talked about how does a nerve work a number of times but watching a video is much easier.

This video was spotted by one out our readers and I think that it explains how a nerve impulse travels pretty nicely.



It is well worth the ten minutes to watch it.

In MS the signs and symptoms are often caused by the nerves being too excited or under-inhibited, so that the nerve impulses occur in a way that is not adequately controlled.

MS removes the myelin that affects how quickly these impulses fire and removal of the myelin on one nerve within a network, can affect the co-ordination of the system, leading to signs.

Too much nerve excitation, can in some cases also drive the nerves to excite themselves to death, because it uses up all the nerves' energy. So blocking some of the excitatory channels or augmenting the inhibitor symptoms can be beneficial to control symptoms and may be useful in advanced MS.
If we look at some treatments that deal with MS symptoms, now hopefully you can see how and why they work.
Please add your suggestions for these education posts in the comments.

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