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Science may get closer to actual causes when it learns what doesn’t trigger the disease.
By Heidi Godman, Contributor | March 24, 2017
While some multiple sclerosis causes have been nixed, smoking and Vitamin D deficiency are both still associated with the risk for developing MS. (GETTY IMAGES)
You may hear about a lot of potential causes of multiple sclerosis, the progressive, incurable disease that damages the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Theories have ranged from genetic to environmental triggers, some as simple as living with a pet.
In reality, it’s difficult to say exactly what causes the condition. “If there were just one thing that caused MS, I believe we would have figured it out by now,” says Dr. Robert Shin, a professor of neurology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Understanding MS
MS starts when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the nerves and their protective covering. “I use the analogy of friendly fire. It’s like we have soldiers in the field fighting the enemy. Sometimes they can get confused and accidentally shoot allies,” Shin says.
The damage interrupts the signals being transmitted throughout the body, resulting in symptoms ranging from numbness and tingling in the extremities to vision problems, muscle weakness, trouble walking and even paralysis.
The disabling nature of the condition has motivated scientists to try to pinpoint why the immune system takes aim at a healthy central nervous system. Researchers are also seeking to understand what causes people with the most common type of MS – called relapsing-remitting MS – to experience symptom flare-ups periodically.
Eliminating MS Causes
It was only the 1960s when scientists began unraveling how the MS disease process works, according to the National Institutes of Health. In the six decades since, researchers have studied many potential causes of MS, and come up with few answers.
Scientists are at least beginning to understand what doesn’t lead to MS onset. For example, scientists suspected for years that a virus carried by dogs, called canine distemper, was associated with the onset of MS in dog owners. A 1982 New York Times article recounts how two neurologists made the connection after three sisters developed MS in 1974, not long after the family’s dog contracted distemper.
But there has not been enough clinical evidence to support a link between MS and canine distemper, reports the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The group notes that there is also a lack of evidence supporting an association between MS and:
- Environmental allergens (allergies).
- Exposure to the heavy metals mercury, lead or manganese.
- Consumption of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
Nixed Relapse Triggers
When Dr. Colin Bamford began researching MS in 1976, scientists already knew the immune system was involved in the development of MS. But it wasn’t clear what triggered MS relapses or the progression of disability.
One question, Bamford recalls, was whether physical trauma could lead to deterioration.
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