How do you get Multiple Sclerosis?

Answer 1

If you're more than 15 years old, the answer is no, there really is no way to prevent MS that we know of today. Vitamin D has been shown to have preventative effects, but what quantity and at what age are as of yet unknown, and Vitamin D can be dangerous at high levels, so I don't advocate taking excessive Vitamin D.

There are a lot of factors that go into determining your susceptibility to MS, including where you live, your ethnicity, your sex, your family history of MS, and finally exposure to some infectious trigger while you're younger. Even these are still poorly understood.

Suffice it to say that the average person in society has about a 1 in 750 chance of developing MS.

Answer 2

Multiple sclerosis is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. When this nerve covering is damaged, nerve impulses are slowed down or stopped. Multiple Sclerosis is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. When this nerve covering is damaged, nerve impulses are slowed down or stopped.

Researchers are not sure what triggers the inflammation. The most common theories point to a virus or genetic defect, or a combination of both.

Multiple Sclerosis is more likely to occur in northern Europe, the northern United States, southern Australia, and New Zealand than in other areas. Geographic studies indicate there may be an environmental factor involved.

Answer 3

No. You may be born with a genetic predisposition to MS, but you are not born with MS. MS is developed, and is influenced by many factors, including ethnicity, geography, sex, and some infectious trigger which all come together to cause the development of MS.

Actually it is possible to be born with MS, although most people develop it.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, there is no vaccination or any other way of preventing MS. However, I've read studies which suggest that getting plenty of vitamin D in childhood (either from sunshine, or from a diet high in fish oils) may have a protective effect.

Answer 5

The answer is, nobody knows. There are studies where an uninfected town suddenly had multiple infections after military bases were introduced (young men) were believed to be the cause. Doctors will swear up and down that its not sexually transmitted to keep paranoia down, but the fact is, it may actually be contagious and passed through sexual contact.

Shhh

dont freak everyone out with the truth.

Mace

Answer 6

While we still do not know what exactly causes MS, we do know that there are some people who seem to get MS more frequently than others. We know this through epidemiological studies, or the study of disease patterns over time within a culture. The National MS Society reports the following epidemiological findings about who gets MS:

• SEX: Females are two to three times more likely to develop MS than males. Scientists believe that one's tendency to develop MS therefore has some hormonal connection.

• FAMILY HISTORY: Statistics show that the chance of the average person in the United States developing MS is about 1 in 750. But close (first-degree) relatives of people with MS, such as children, siblings or non-identical twins, have a higher chance, anywhere from one in 100 to one in 40. It's not all genetic, though, and you can see this through the "identical twin" example. If one identical twin has MS, the other twin (who has the identical gene structure as the twin) has only a 1 in 4 chance of developing MS. If it were all genetic, the unaffected twin would have a 100% chance of developing MS instead of the 25% chance they exhibit today.

• ETHNICITY: MS is more common among Caucasians (particularly those of northern European ancestry) than other ethnic groups, and is almost unheard of in some populations, such as Inuits, Yakutes, Hutterites, Hungarian Romanis, Norwegian Lapps, Australian Aborigines, and New Zealand Maoris.

• GEOGRAPHY: MS occurs with greatest frequency in higher latitudes (above 40° latitude) away from the equator, than in lower latitudes, closer to the equator. This may have something to do with vitamin D production in the skin, and the vitamin's prophylactic effect on the development of MS. The exact details about vitamin D's involvement with the prevention of MS, however, is still unclear. Additionally, moving from one geographic area to another seems to alter a person's risk of developing MS. Studies show that families and their children will assume the new risk level (higher or lower) of the area to which they move. Those who move before age 15 generally take on the new risk themselves. Those who move after they are 15 may not see the new risk appear until the next generation.

• INFECTIOUS TRIGGER: Scientists have been searching for years for an infectious agent that might trigger MS. While many different viruses have been suggested, including rabies, herpes simplex virus, measles, corona virus, canine distemper virus, HTLV-1, Epstein-Barr virus, among others, none has yet been confirmed. Chlamydia pneumoniae, a bacteria which 90% of the population has been exposed to over their lifetime, has also been suggested but never proven. Although no trigger has yet been identified, most MS experts believe that some infectious agent is involved in initiating the disease process.

Answer 7

I've read of parents giving their kids loads of vit B & D shots, but the answer is no,you can't prevent getting ms

Answer 8

Multiple Sclerosis is a very deadly disease