Trauma May Induce Multiple Sclerosis

MS – Multiple Sclerosis – is a disease that causes the degradation of the myelin sheath covering nerves, thereby disrupting communication between nerves, and muscles. Think of this sheath as the outer plastic covering of wires to your appliances. While the exact cause of MS is still being investigated, it is thought to be an auto-immune disorder. That is, a condition where the body attacks itself for no know reason. MS can affect any part of the body, but especially speech, vision, and movement.

An auto-immune disorder is where abnormal anti-bodies attack regular cells and systems of the body and cause degradation, or damage. Other types of Autoimmune diseases are:

• Rheumatoid arthritis which is an inflammation that can attack both joints and sometimes internal organs. Scientists are always seeking the causes and solutions.
• Type 1 diabetes is a childhood dis-order where anti-bodies damage the pancreas leaving it unable to produce sufficient insulin to properly regulate blood sugar.
• Type 2 diabetes is a combination of conditions also affecting blood sugar levels high or low, wherein regular cells become resistant to the naturally produced insulin. This too is a form of auto-immune disorder where normal cells are reacting adversely to normal physiology.
• Pernicious anemia is a condition where abnormal antibodies produced by the immune system prevent B12 processing and therefore cause low iron concentrations in the blood.

Autoimmune disorders may be linked to genetics (the genes we inherit) or epigenetic damage caused environmental exposure to toxins in the air, water, food, e.g. cigarette smoke.

What triggers MS is still a mystery up till now. Other than an autoimmune disease, previously theories included some form of unknown chronic infection, a genetic neurological predisposition, or possibly a head injury.

A new study published in the September 2017 issue of Annals of Neurology looked at 7,000 MS patients compared with 70,000 non-MS people who were of similar gender, age and geographical location. They were looking for verified concussions and/or broken arms or legs before the age of 20 in order to correlate a trauma to MS. Results showed:

• No relationship between broken bones in the extremities to MS
• Single concussion patients (between 12-20 years old) were 22% more likely to suffer from MS than those without concussion
• Incidence of MS was twice as likely for those who suffered two or more concussions

While these statistics do not prove that concussions actually caused MS, it does present a very real possibility of a link. There may be other concomitant relationships such as medications and concussions.

As with all introductory studies, much more research is needed, however given the scope of this project, many incidental conclusions can form the basis for more studies. One such theory is the question as to trauma in relationship to other autoimmune problems, as is generally assumed with osteo-arthritis.