Environment’s Role in MS Risk

EnvironmentalWe moved to an extremely isolated location in SE Montana in 1990 for my husband to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. Despite only a handful of people living in the area, serious cases of multiple sclerosis affecting all ages of people surrounded us. We moved away in 1992. A few years later I found myself hearing the possible diagnosis of MS. Could there be a link?

According to new research, “environmental factors may be playing a much greater role in the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) than previously realized.” (Queen Mary University of London & Barts Health NHS Trust) Black and South Asians typically do not have significant rates of MS, unless they live in east London where their risk rate is several times higher.

What environmental factors could be at play you ask? In this study vitamin D deficiency and viral infections are highly suspect. Identifying risk factors is critical in developing a prevention strategy for them. In the case of the SE Montana rash of MS patients, the deteriorating, underground nuclear weapon sites come to mind as an environmental factor.

Learn more at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160317233550.htm. Image from www.brs-inc.com.

About the Author

Melissa Cook
Melissa Cook is the author of www.MSsymptoms.me. As a retired high school teacher and school district administrator, she chooses to share her MS story in hopes of benefiting others.