2,000 people walk in Sacramento for multiple sclerosis

More than 2,000 people are expected to raise about $200,000 for multiple sclerosis research and programs for people with MS at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Northern California Chapter 2017 Walk MS on Saturday morning, April 22, at the west steps of the California State Capital, 1315 10th St., at “L” and 10th streets, Sacramento.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. On-site registration will be available. The walk begins at 9 a.m. The Walk route includes a choice of one mile or three miles around the perimeter of Capital Park. Both routes are 100 percent accessible and offer snacks and water at stationary rest stops.

Proceeds will benefit MS research and program and services for people with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body.

Admission is free to attend Walk MS. Event information is available at www.WalkMS.org. Walkers will have the opportunity to earn prizes, including t-shirts, movie tickets and gift cards, based on the amount of donations they collect.

Since 1988, Walk MS has been known for drawing a large number of teams representing businesses, neighborhoods, clubs, community groups, churches and family members and friends of a person with MS. Many teams come up with a team name and outfit their members with costumes, including T-shirts, hats or balloons.

The fundraiser is presented locally by Biogen. The National MS Society’s national Walk MS sponsors include Genentech, Novartis and Sanofi Genzyme.

MS, the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults, is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although an estimated 8,000-to-10,000 children under the age of 18 also live with MS. Two to three times more women than men have been diagnosed with MS. An estimated 2.3 million people live with MS worldwide. MS symptoms can range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis, as well as blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue and cognitive deficits. Symptoms might be permanent, or they might come and go. By eating away at the coating that allows nerve cells to transmit messages, MS can lead to restrictive or awkward movements and mental gaps, among other problems. Studies indicate that genetic factors may make certain individuals more susceptible to the disease, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited.