Walkers to join in fight against MS

Join the movement and get walking to help end multiple sclerosis.

This year, Walk MS, presented by MS Lifelines and EMD Serono, takes place May 4 at 12 sites throughout Illinois.

In total, organizers from the National MS Society, Greater Illinois Chapter will host more than 15,000 women, men and youths living with MS, their families and supporters as they gather to join the movement to create a world free of MS.

Local walks will take place at 9 a.m. in Sunset Park, 5200 Miller Road in Lake in the Hills, and at 9 a.m. at Pottawatomie Park, a half-mile north of Main Street on North 2nd Avenue, in St. Charles.

The 2008 events are expected to raise $3.35 million to support programs and services for people living with MS, cutting-edge research into the causes and potential cures for the disease, and the local, state and federal advocacy efforts that are improving the lives of families affected by MS.

"Multiple sclerosis stops people from moving, but we exist to make sure that it doesn't," said Lynda Chott, president of the National MS Society, Greater Illinois Chapter. "And as we gather together at Walk MS events across the state, we are forming a powerful movement and issuing an even more powerful statement that we are committed to stopping MS in its tracks."

Other sponsors for this year's event include Chicago's WXRT-FM, Jewel, American Family Insurance, American Airlines, Pure Protein and Christopher and Banks.

Register to participate in the 2008 Walk MS event online at www.msillinois.org or by calling (888) 343-1179. Specific details about each of the walk sites are available online, including maps and directions.

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.

The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are being made. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men contracting the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the US, including 20,000 in Illinois, and 2.5 million worldwide.

Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for many people with multiple sclerosis. Talk to your health care professional and contact the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at msillinois.org or (800) FIGHT-MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.