Walk/Run to Benefit MS

1️⃣ Nearly 3 Million People Worldwide Live with MS
🌍 An estimated 2.9 million people globally are living with multiple sclerosis.
In the United States alone, nearly 1 million people have MS, almost double what researchers believed just a decade ago.

 
2️⃣ Women Are 3x More Likely to Develop MS
👩 MS affects women about three times more often than men.
In some regions, that ratio is even higher, and it has been steadily increasing over the past few decades.

 
3️⃣ MS Is the Leading Cause of Non-Traumatic Neurological Disability in Young Adults
🧠 MS is the most common cause of neurological disability (not caused by injury) in young adults.
Most people are diagnosed between ages 20–40, often right in the middle of career-building and starting families.

 
4️⃣ Risk Increases the Farther You Live from the Equator
🌎 Geography matters:
People living in northern U.S. states, Canada, Northern Europe, and southern Australia have 2–5 times higher risk of developing MS than those living near the equator.
Researchers believe this is linked to vitamin D levels and sunlight exposure.

 
5️⃣ MS Costs the U.S. Over $85,000 Per Person Per Year
💰 The average annual cost per person with MS in the United States exceeds $85,000, including healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Nationally, MS costs the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars every year.

 

With thanks to people like yourself who are donating to MS research there have been some incredible breakthroughs over the past 5 years:

• Myelin repair research: New experimental therapies are showing early signs that damaged nerve insulation (myelin) in MS may be repairable, not just protected.
• Progressive MS treatment breakthrough: The investigational drug Tolebrutinib slowed disability progression in secondary progressive MS, an area with very limited treatment options.
• MS subtypes discovered: Researchers are using AI, MRI scans, and blood biomarkers to identify biological subtypes of MS, moving toward more personalized treatment.