Reality TV star Jack Osbourne has multiple sclerosis.
June 19, 2012- Jack Osbourne, a new father at 26, was diagnosed earlier this year with multiple sclerosis. Osbourne is the son of singer Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon. He said he was told of his condition just two weeks after the birth of Pearl Clementine, his daughter.
Osbourne said his first reaction was frustration, anger and why now. Osbourne is younger than those who are normally diagnosed with the disease. The average age that someone is usually diagnosed is 37.
The disease is autoimmune and affects the spinal cord and brain. It attacks the protective covering that covers nerve cells known as the myelin sheath and there are nearly 400,000 Americans who have MS. Each week, over 200 new diagnoses occur in the U.S. alone.
The disease is degenerative and its symptoms, which can affect bowel function, muscles, vision, personality and sexual and nerve function can vary from one patient to the other greatly. Patients and doctors cannot determine how multiple sclerosis will behave in the first stages of the disease. While many perceive MS to cause problems with walking and even wheelchairs, the majority of MS sufferers never will need a wheelchair.
MS can quickly change and one day can be much different then the next. There is no cure for the disease, but medicine has come a long way and now has medications that help to control some of the diseases’ symptoms.
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