MS Etiology

I wanted to start this weeks blog with a video. While we can try to imagine what MS is like, I thought it might be helpful to hear a first hand account of what it is like from someone who lives with MS everyday.

 
Many of the debilitating side effects caused by MS (paralysis, blindness and numbness) is due to conduction block caused largely by demyelination and inflammation. Remember the analogy of the game, telephone? Conduction block is when the message can not be properly relayed down the line. You are probably wondering what causes this "demyelination" that we have been talking about for the last three weeks. This week we will discuss the etiology of MS.

Etiology /eti·ol·o·gy/ (e″te-ol?ah-je)

1. the science dealing with causes of disease.

2. the cause of a disease.

Immunologic:
The etiology of MS is still currently not completely understood. What we do know is that in MS, and abnormal immune mediated response occurs. This basically means that in an auto-immune response, the body doesn't recognize itself, but rather sees it as something that shouldn't be there and attacks itself. In the case of MS, the body attacks the coating around the nerve fibers called myelin. In recent years, researchers have finally been able to identify which immune cells are causing the attack, why they may attack and some of the receptors on the attacking cells that seem to be attacked the the myelin.

Environmental:
MS has been found more frequently in areas that are father from the equator. Because of this, etiologists are studying geography, demographics, gender and ethnic background to shed light onto potential risk factors. Studies have even shown that people who are born in an area with a high risk of MS who move to an area of lower risk under the age of 15, assume the new risk of the area they moved to. There is also evidence of Vitamin D (or lack of it!) contributing to a higher incidence of MS. Smoking (as with many diseases) may also contribute to the disease as well as contribute to a more rapid disease progression.

Genetic:
While MS is not hereditary (meaning passed through genes from parents to their offspring) , having a first degree (mom, dad, sister, or brother) relative who has MS does increase a person's risk of developing it themselves.There are theories that suggest that while MS itself is not hereditary, some may have a genetic predisposition to react to environmental agents.

Why we may not completely understand why a person may develop MS, we have disproved many theories. Here is a list of things that we know does not cause MS...

Living with a dog or other small pet: Some years ago, canine distemper a virus carried by dogs was proposed as a cause of MS, but research has since ruled this out (thankfully!). Be at ease knowing that there is no evidence to support that playing with your pooch has any influence on MS!

Having allergies: There is no evidence that MS is triggered by a reaction to a specific environmental allergen. Allergies are common in the general population and can occur in people with MS.

Exposure to heavy metals: While it is true that heavy metals may damage the nervous system, the damage is completely different than that which occurs during MS. There is no evidence that heavy metal exposure causes MS.

Aspartame:  No scientific evidence supports the claims that aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in many diet soft drinks and other foods causes MS. Kick back and enjoy your diet coke

That is all for now... until next week!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1692682/
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/What-Causes-MS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpDhCOO1EII