Question - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

bLuEeYeS1886 · 06-09-2005, 09:52 AM

I read that having a family history of MS and where you live increases your risk at ms. Is this true?? I asked my mom about history of MS in my family, and as far as her side and my dad's side there is no one with MS. Can it just come up though? I have high anxiety when it comes to health issues...I always think I have something..and this is something I've always wondered. Thanx!

baddoey · 06-09-2005, 10:45 AM

yes - having a family history of MS (or auto-immune conditions) and coming from a northern latitude increase your chances of having MS.

KelliD · 06-09-2005, 11:27 AM

Hi BlueEyes- I have been repeatedly told that MS is not hereditary, but that it is common when one family members develops MS, to find others on down the road who will develop it.

The research I have found indicates that people, women in-particular, who live in the northern part of the U-S seem more prone to MS. One piece of research indicated that MS may be caused by an environmental factor, with this particular study pointing at an airborne fungus? bacteria? found in field corn as a possible culprit.

I and my sister both have MS. I am highly allergic to corn. She has not been tested for allergies, but is sensitive to corn. It would stand to reason, theoretically, that because we share the same genetics, our parents' combined genes may have created the predisposition in us to develop MS as a physical response to environmental irritants. Make sense?

I have no idea WHAT causes MS. If only I DID know!! This is the most plausible explanation I have found, though. We live in central Indiana. Our great grandfather went undiagnosed in the early 1900's, but looking back at his symptoms, we believe he, too, had MS.

fancycanelady · 06-09-2005, 11:54 AM

Hi,
I am of the believe that MS is caused my some kind of underlying virus. Kind of like some germ leftover from an illness, either like ckicken pox or even an unexplained one. When I was a child, I was always getting sick with either unexplained high fevers or fainting spells. The doctors always put the blame on my chronic kidney problems, but I think they were just taking the easy way out. The "virus" stays dormant for years until another illness triggers it. Something as simple as a cold could do it.
This is just my opinion!

KelliD · 06-09-2005, 11:56 AM

That's another good argument!