Although the exact causes and risk factors of multiple sclerosis are
still unknown to modern medical science, it is believed that the
disease occurs on the premises of inherited genetic dysfunctions and is
triggered by certain environmental factors (either exposure to
chemicals or infections with viruses or bacteria). Despite the fact
that medical scientists have conducted elaborate research on multiple
sclerosis over the last few years, the exact genes that render people
more susceptible to developing the autoimmune disorder and the exact
environmental causative agents haven’t been identified yet. Medical
scientists hope that in the near future they will be able not only to
discover the exact causes of multiple sclerosis, but also find
efficient means of preventing the occurrence of the disorder in persons
with predisposition to autoimmune disorders.
According to recent studies in the field, genetic factors play a major
role in the occurrence and progression of multiple sclerosis. Medical
scientists inform that multiple sclerosis has a pronounced hereditary
character, the genes that render people susceptible of developing the
disorder being transmissible from one generation to another. Recent
medical research has revealed the fact that the identical twin of a
person diagnosed with multiple sclerosis has a 30 percent chance of
developing the same disorder at a certain point in life. The risk of
first degree relatives of persons with multiple sclerosis to develop
the disorder is 50 times higher than that of persons with no family
history of multiple sclerosis. Medical scientists are currently working
to identify the exact genes that render persons with a family history
of multiple sclerosis susceptible to developing the disorder at a
certain stage in life.
Medical scientists believe that infections with viruses are also
potential causes of multiple sclerosis. This belief is supported by the
unequal geographic distribution of the disease (cases of multiple
sclerosis are more numerous in regions of the Globe confronted with
regular cases of viral diseases). In addition, scientists have
established a link between multiple sclerosis and viral epidemics.
According to the results of medical investigations, the overall number
of multiple sclerosis cases increases during viral epidemics. In
addition, certain viruses are very similar to myelin (the protein that
is primarily affected by multiple sclerosis), and it is thought that
such viruses confuse the immune system, determining its antibodies to
target the body’s healthy nerve cells covered in myelin instead of the
intruding infectious agents.
The infectious organisms that are suspected to play a role in the
occurrence and progression of multiple sclerosis are herpesviruses and
Chlamydia pneumoniae bacteria. The HHV-6 subtype of herpesvirus (virus
that causes roseola in children) has also been identified to cause
severe diseases of the nervous system such as encephalitis (brain
inflammation). Other subtypes of herpesviruses such as herpes simplex 1
and 2, varicella-zoster virus and cytomegalovirus also have potential
of causing dysfunctions of the nervous system. Chlamydia pneumoniae, an
atypical bacterium that has been linked with various inflammatory
diseases is also suspected to cause multiple sclerosis. Although
medical research continues, signs of infection with Chlamydia
pneumoniae have been revealed in the majority of patients with multiple
sclerosis.
