Q 01/05

Which nerve-fiber coating, stripped away in multiple sclerosis, is what makes the brain's white matter white?

A) Melanin

B) Keratin

C) Myelin

D) Collagen

Answer · why

C) Myelin

Myelin is rich in fat, which is why it looks white. It lets electrical signals hop along a nerve at speed, so messages slow down or fail where it has ...

Q 02/05

The 'sclerosis' in multiple sclerosis refers to which marks, left scattered across the brain and spinal cord?

A) Scars

B) Clots

C) Cysts

D) Tumors

Answer · why

A) Scars

Scars, which doctors call plaques or lesions, form wherever the nerve coating has been attacked. The name is short for multiple cerebro-spinal scleros...

Q 03/05

Multiple sclerosis becomes steadily more common the farther people live from which line on the globe?

A) The prime meridian

B) The equator

C) The Arctic Circle

D) The Tropic of Cancer

Answer · why

B) The equator

The equator is where MS is rarest, and rates climb with distance north or south of it. A few groups break the rule: Sardinians have high rates, while ...

Q 04/05

Which virus, the usual cause of mono, was tied to a 32-fold higher multiple sclerosis risk in US troops?

A) Cytomegalovirus

B) Influenza A

C) Hepatitis B

D) Epstein–Barr

Answer · why

D) Epstein–Barr

Epstein–Barr infects more than nine in ten adults, yet MS is only a rare complication of it. The finding came from records of over 10 million service ...

Q 05/05

Multiple sclerosis, like many autoimmune conditions, is diagnosed almost three times as often in which group?

A) Women

B) Men

C) Teens

D) Seniors

Answer · why

A) Women

Women's extra risk is not fixed: the gap between the sexes may have widened over time. In children under 12, girls are only slightly more likely than ...