1. National MS Society
My name is __________ from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Thank you all so much for joining us today and for participating our MS Ambassador program.
Today we’ll be giving you a brief overview of the disease, what we at the MS Society are doing about it, and what it means to be an ambassador for the National MS Society.

2. MS Ambassadors
What is MS? MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. MS causes the destruction of myelin, resulting in the disruption of nerve signals. It is an unpredictable disease with no known cause.
Symptoms
Difficulty walking
Dizziness and vertigo
Poor balance and coordination
Weakness and fatigue
Visual impairment
Sensory and emotional disturbances
Cognitive (memory) problems
Multiple (meaning many) Sclerosis (meaning scarring) is a disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The protective coating of the brain and spinal cord called myelin gets damaged or becomes demylenated. Scarring forms and causes the signals that the brain is sending to the rest of the body to become disrupted resulting in an impairment of balance and coordination as well as cognitive functioning.

3. MS Ambassadors
Who Is Diagnosed? -Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. -There are more than 400,000 people with MS in the United States. -The average age for diagnosis is between 20 and 50 with more than twice as many females diagnosed than males.
Dubbed the prime of your life disease, MS has no known cause and no know cure. Although research shows there may be both genetic and environmental components.
MS is not an inherited disease, although there is some genetic susceptibility. There is a higher risk for MS in families where it has already occurred. The average person in the US has approximately one chance in 1,000 of developing MS. Children or siblings of a person with MS have 1 chance in 100 of developing MS. The identical twin of a person with MS has a 33 percent chance of developing MS.
Research has shown that MS is more prevalent in the northern United States, Canada and northern Europe than anywhere else in the world. Because MS occurs more frequently in higher latitudes, it has been suggested that the closer to the equator or the more tropical the climate, the less likely you are to develop MS due to the exposure to vitamin D.

4. STOP- RESTORE-END MS Ambassadors
Mission We mobilize people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS.
STOP- RESTORE-END
Our mission is, quite simply, to create a world free of MS. We’re going to accomplish that by moving forward: with research, with programs and services and with advocacy.
Our three clear research goals are
STOP MS in its tracks by developing more treatments
RESTORE lost function through myelin repair
END MS forever through prevention for future generations

5. MS Ambassadors History MS was first described in 1868
Sylvia Lawry placed an ad in the NY Times in 1945
The first two chapters of the National MS Society were organized in 1947
The first two MS clinics were opened in 1948
First MRI pictures of an MS affected brain were produced in 1981
The drug Betaseron was approved for treatment of MS in 1993
There are currently 6 Disease Modifying Drugs and 1 Symptom Management Drug- Ampyra. The latest an oral medicine was approved September of 2010.
With the help of literature and medical journals, MS can be traced back as far as the early 15th century. Although MS has a long history, it wasn’t until 1868 that it was recognized as a separate and distinct disease by a French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot.
The history of the NMSS begins in the 1940s with an everyday woman by the name of Sylvia Lawry. Sylvia’s brother exhibited symptoms of MS so she took out a 2 line add in the New York Times classified section seeking feedback from anyone who had recovered from MS. She did not receive one letter from a person who had recovered from Multiple Sclerosis, instead she received a slew of responses from others who sought help and more information. She formed a campaign to uncover more information, promote research and raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis. This group became known as the National MS Society.
We are now the world’s largest private sponsor of MS research with over $500 million dollars invested in MS research.
There is no doubt that one person really can make a difference.

6. MS Ambassadors What We Do
We support people with MS and their families by:
Supporting an international program of peer-reviewed scientific research in MS
Organizing state and federal public policy
Building public awareness
Collaborating with MS clinicians
Offering programs and services
Raising funds to support all of these initiatives
The National MS Society supports more MS research, offers more services for people with MS, provided more professional education programs and furthers more MS advocacy than any other MS organization in the world.

7. MS Ambassadors
Where We’re Going - We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. -We are a driving force of MS research, relentlessly pursuing prevention, treatment, and cure and we address the challenges of each person whose life is affected by MS. -To accomplish these goals, we mobilize people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS.
It is people like you who are making us successful as we tap into your talents to bring awareness to multiple sclerosis.

8. National MS Society
How to get involved? The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is looking for people who want to make a mark against MS. Whether you are interested in volunteering, fundraising, donating, or participating in an event or program, we need you to help us create a world free of MS