was told yesterday, but that has not discouraged people from looking.

Wendell (Shine) Hayward, the founder and president of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda, spoke about some of the symptoms and treatments of multiple sclerosis, or MS, to the Lions at their weekly meeting.

He said multiple sclerosis is a "chronic and sometimes disabling disease of the central nervous system'' The cause of the disease is not yet known, he added.

Scientists theorise, however, that it is the result of a nervous or auto-immune system malfunction.

"The body becomes allergic to itself,'' he explained.

When damage is done to the myelin sheath, a fatty tissue which covers the nerves of the brain and spine, the ability of the brain to transmit nervous messages becomes difficult.

This is MS, he said.

The symptoms vary greatly, from very mild to severe and disabling.

They can include tingling and numbness in limbs, difficulty walking, memory loss, dizziness, depression and even loss of vision or paralysis.

Mr. Hayward told the Lions that MS tends to affect people between 20 and 40 years of age, and women twice as often as men.

He said between 30 and 40 percent of MS cases can be classified as mild, and three and 12 percent as rapidly progressive. The remainder of MS sufferers may fall between the two extremes.

"MS can be treated to a certain degree,'' he said. There are drugs which can relieve an attack, or which can reduce the frequency and severity of attacks.

Drugs are also available to aid in the treatment of the depression and fatigue which may come with MS.

Other areas of treatment include physiotherapy, diet and exercise.

The Lions heard that there is no way to predict the pattern of attacks. Mr.

Hayward added that MS affects people in so many different ways that it is hard to make generalisations about the disease.

MS is not contagious or hereditary, nor is it fatal, though it may result in a malfunction in some other part of the body which could itself be fatal, Lions learned.

They also heard that there are about 35 people in Bermuda who are known to have MS. Mr. Hayward added, however, that in any given area, the actual cases of MS are probably triple the amount of cases known.

The search is on for a cure, Mr. Hayward said. Tomorrow is the MS Society of Bermuda's Annual Carnation Day where volunteers with baskets of white, red, peach and pink carnations will be accepting donations from Somerset to St.

George's.

Funds raised will go toward several areas.

Some will go toward education and dissemination of knowledge about MS to the public, while some will be used to support research in the hunt for a cause and a cure.

Finally, some will be used to directly aid some of the MS sufferers here in Bermuda. Certain drugs to treat MS may cost up to $2,000 a month.

Mr. Hayward urged all present to: "Make a donation -- secure a carnation.'' The fund raiser kicked off to a fantastic start when Lion Ewen Maclean presented Mr. Hayward with a cheque which the Lions had raised through selling chocolate Easter bunnies.

The cheque was for $1,600.

HEALTH HTH