Our bodies expend countless amounts of energy to fight and defend against harmful diseases. Diseases come in many shapes and sizes, greatly affecting our body's systems. One of the most important systems in our body is the nervous system. The nervous system is composed of a complex network of neurons that allows our body to incorporate information from the outside world, integrate it and perceive it. Furthermore, the nervous system allows us to act through motor control. Fundamentally, the nervous system is vital to our understanding and ability to interact with the world. An important disease that negatively affects the nervous system is multiple sclerosis (MS). This demyelinating and debilitating disease attacks the human body's primary method of transmitting and communicating information, through inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) of the brain and spinal cord. Normally, neurons in the central nervous system are insulated by a substance known as myelin that helps propagate action potentials. These myelin sheaths are attacked by the body's immune system. This results in a degeneration of essential bodily functions such as walking, breathing and even thinking. We believe that the nervous system is one of the most important systems within our body. Not only does it control our sensory, motor, and autonomic responses to the environment, it is also arguably the system that makes us human. We were fascinated that a simple change in the myelination of cells could cause such a profound effect on the entire body. Furthermore, we have also had personal experiences with people who have unfortunately been diagnosed with MS. MS is a unique disease based on its etiology, it causes a… middle of paper… exacerbation of symptoms. Current research is focusing on the differentiation capacity of mesenchymal stem cells which could potentially be used for immunomodulated effects (Hoogduijn, 2010). However, there is much controversy associated with stem cell research. Additionally, researchers are exploring the possibilities of gene therapy by examining “susceptibility genes,” which are genes in an individual that increase the risk of having MS. In this way, these sensitive genes can be further studied and used as targets for therapy. (NINDS, 2013; Mowry, 2013). One of the ways to improve our knowledge and understanding of MS is through continued research based on current knowledge of the disease. Many hope that more information will be researched about MS so that one day, even when someone is diagnosed with MS, the consequences will not be devastating or life-threatening.