What causes MS?
The cause of MS is not known. It is clear that the immune system is directly involved in the damage that occurs to the myelin. What causes the immune system to be activated is not known. • Some believe a person could be exposed to a virus earlier in life. The proteins of this virus could resemble the proteins of myelin. An immune attack on the virus could cross react with myelin. Even though the virus is gone, the immune attack on the myelin could persist. • Some believe that the immune system is at fault and is attacking the myelin in the absence of an outside stimulus. • Alternatively, some believe that a virus may be the target of the immune attack. This could be a virus that persists in the brain or central nervous system and periodically flares or that is periodically encountered, leading to attacks of MS.
An exact cause of MS has not been identified, however, most researchers believe that more than one factor is involved in the development of this disease. One popular theory involves a slow-acting virus, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or measles, which could remain dormant (inactive) for many years before contributing to the development of MS in genetically susceptible people. Genes appear to play a role as well. Additionally, researchers are now looking at a vitamin D deficiency (vitamin D may be derived from both sunshine and diet), along with the types and amounts of fat intake in one’s diet, as possible contributing factors of MS. While cigarette smoking has already been shown to increase the rate of progression of one’s MS, studies now suggest that smoking may also increase the risk of developing MS. MS is not contagious.
Doctors still don’t understand what causes MS, but there are interesting data that suggest that genetics, a person’s environment, and possibly even a virus may play a role. Researchers believe that MS may be inherited (passed on from parents to children). First, second and third degree relatives of people with MS are at increased risk of developing the disease. Siblings of an affected person have a 2%-5% risk of developing MS. Some scientists theorize that MS develops because a person is born with a genetic predisposition to react to some environmental agent, which, upon exposure, triggers an autoimmune response. In addition, some studies have suggested that many viruses such as measles, herpes, and the flu viruses may be associated with MS. To date, however, this belief has not been proven.
