Multiple Sclerosis – What do you think causes Multiple Sclerosis? Have you say here!

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis

Over the last few years we have covered the symptoms and treatments of multiple sclerosis in some detail.

Today we would like to turn our attention to the causes of multiple sclerosis and more specifically what you think are the causes of MS?

To that end we have set up a poll looking a some of the possible causes. Please choose which you consider to be the causes. You can select more than one.

Many thanks in advance!


[]

 

 

Maygrelle When I was a kid, our dog had a litter of puppies.  There were four of us kids and four puppies.  Until the pups went to their new homes, each of us kids got to claim and care for a puppy.  After my puppy was sold, she came down with an unidentified illness that caused neurological symptoms.  Her owner wrote to us detailing her symptoms.  She eventually lost the use of her hind legs and was put down.  Twenty years later, my sister and I were diagnosed with MS.  After another 15 years, a 3rd sister is being evaluated for MS.  Of the 3 of us, I, the one who spent the most time with that puppy, have by far the most serious course of the disease.  I can’t help but think that whatever caused that dog to become ill might also be behind multiple sclerosis.  I know that researchers have looked at, and ruled out, canine distemper.  It’s not so far fetched to think that another canine virus might be to blame.
Rebecca2501 I think I have always had it and the symptoms became more apparent after the trauma of the birth of my first child.
Cheryl12750 I feel that I was born with MS. It just took until I was 24 to be diagnosed. That was over 40years ago.
BethWelchOkonczak The predisposition of development of MS is within the HERV-W, a dormant retrovirus that has been embedded in between the 6th and 7th chromosome in human DNA since before we were humans. This retrovirus is activated via catalysts such as Mononucleosis, Strep, Epstein-Barr, Chicken Pox, and other viruses. Once activated, the virus will cause the lymph nodes to create abnormal and deformed proteins, such as fibrinogen which are small enough to leech through the blog brain barrier. These cause a reaction from the immune system and the white blood cells attack the myelin tissue. Additional genetic predispositions can complicate this. Allergies, dietary reactions, poor nutrition, lack of vitamin D, lack of exercise, ingestion of toxins like glyphosate, mercury, aspartame or fluoride, all contribute to the volitility of the MS response and the ability of the body to recover from a relapse.
fedupandconfused Pertussis / whooping cough. Never been the same since 🙁
LourdesRiveraMiranda I sincerely believe that our immune system is healthy, but that it reacts to the agents that activate ms. For example vaccines, contaminated food and water. Then these reactions doctors called them Multiple Sclerosis.
BillyRiser my vit d levels were very low, that i took 50,000iu 2 a week. til it got normal, but i had ms already. also heard it could be from mono, which i have had when i was a kid.
jesse .

thanks!!

TeresaJane Honestly, I believe that we are genetically predisposed to develop MS. Everything I read and my history of symptom relate back to something that makes us more prone to develop the disease. It has to start with a genetic factor. My mother has a lot of the symptom that I have had, although she was never tested for MS (no brain or spinal MRI for lesion, no spinal tap or any other MS related testing). She was diagnosed with DDD, arthritis, carpel tunnel syndrome and many nerve issues. She lives in chronic pain and has had multiple spinal surgeries. Her sister also has severe Rheumatoid arthritis. My father doesn’t seem to have nerve or spinal issues, but my youngest brother has undiagnosed issues. He is just too stubborn to see a Dr. I have a cousin who has been diagnosed with Lupus and possible MS on my father’s side.
I grew up in a city that had heavy lead contamination at the time for a local “plant”. Which is now shut down, of course. There have been several people I grew up with who have developed MS or other rare autoimmune diseases. I had random neurological symptoms for about 11 years before I got “pink eye” while working as a school nurse. A month after that resolved I began losing my vision in the same eye (optic neuritis) and that lead to my diagnosis along with my history of undiagnosed symptom and MRI that also showed many “old” lesions.
Wow… So, to sum it up, I truly believe it is a combination of genetic, environmental and immunological factors. We have to have all of the right components to trigger the disease which hides in our bodies. And from what I have read, that is how science sees it. Although they still can’t find a cure. But how do you cure something that you were born to possibly/probably develop?

What Causes Multiple Sclerosis and Will There Ever Be a Cure?

Image result for What Causes Multiple Sclerosis and Will There Ever Be a Cure?

Dr. Daniel Kantor speaks with Dr. Mark Gudesplatt, Dr. Regina Berkovich, Dr. Samuel Hunter, Dr. Augusto Miravalle and Dr. Edward Fox about what causes Multiple Sclerosis and if there will ever be a cure.

Multiple sclerosis – some ideas about the causes of MS

Multiple Sclerosis Journey

Multiple Sclerosis Journey

Exactly why someone develops multiple sclerosis (MS) isn’t known. It’s not caused by anything you’ve done and it’s not clear whether it can be prevented.

What is known so far suggests it’s caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

What happens in MS

MS is an autoimmune condition, which means your immune system mistakes part of your body for a foreign substance and attacks it.

In the case of MS, it attacks the myelin sheath in the brain and/or spinal cord. This is the layer that surrounds your nerves, protecting them and helping electrical signals travel from the brain to the rest of the body.

The attacks cause the myelin sheath to become inflamed in small patches (plaques or lesions), which can be seen on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

These patches of inflammation can disrupt the messages travelling along the nerves. It can slow them down, jumble them, send them the wrong way, or stop them from getting through completely. This disruption leads to the symptoms and signs of MS.

When the inflammation goes away, it can leave behind scarring of the myelin sheath (sclerosis). These attacks, particularly if frequent and repeated, can eventually lead to permanent damage to the underlying nerves.

Why do people get MS?

It’s not clear what causes the immune system to attack the myelin sheath.

It seems likely that it’s partly caused by genes you inherit from your parents and partly by outside factors that may trigger the condition.

Some of the factors that have been suggested as possible causes of MS include:

your genes – MS isn’t directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it; the chance of a sibling or child of someone with MS also developing it is estimated to be around 2-3%

lack of sunlight and vitamin D – MS is more common in countries far from the equator, which could mean that a lack of sunlight and low vitamin D levels may play a role in the condition, although it’s not clear whether vitamin D supplements can help prevent MS

smoking – people who smoke are about twice as likely to develop MS compared to those who don’t smoke

viral infections – it has been suggested that infections, particularly those caused by Epstein-Barr virus (responsible for glandular fever), might trigger the immune system, leading to MS in some people

More research is needed to further understand why MS occurs and whether anything can be done to prevent it.