ABSTRACT
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prevalent, non-traumatic, and chronic disabling neurological disease among adults in the United States and worldwide. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) estimates that there are approximately 400,000 cases of MS in the United States with an incidence of nearly 200 new cases each week (NMSS, 2005). Others have indicated that MS affects an estimated 1 per 1,000 persons in the United States (Mayr et al., 2003). There are an estimated 2.5 million cases of MS worldwide (NMSS, 2005). The majority of people with MS are diagnosed between 20 and 50 years of age, and women are affected between two and three times more often than men (NMSS, 2005). MS is more common among people with northern European ancestry than people of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent (NMSS, 2005).
