*MS Article*-Environment Appears To Be Key

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Multiple sclerosis risk influenced by childhood environment

Toronto, May 24, 2006 – The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

announced findings from a Canadian study that shows the risk of MS may

be influenced by place of residence during childhood rather than

ancestry. The study results were published in a recent edition of

Neuroepidemiology.

The study puts into question the belief that MS is a disease targeted

primarily at Caucasians or those with ancestral ties to areas north of

the equator such as Northern Europe.

The study involved 44 children and 573 adults from the paediatric MS

clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children and the adult MS clinic at St.

's Hospital, both located in Toronto.

" By comparing study results with census data, we found that the MS

population has become more multicultural as immigration to Ontario has

increased, " explains Dr. Banwell, director of the paediatric MS

clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children and principal investigator for

the study. " This adds great credence to our theory that childhood

residence, more than ancestry, is a major determinant of MS risk. "

The adult MS clinic population examined showed most of the patients,

upwards of 90 percent, reported European heritage. Data from the 1971

census, obtained when most of the adult MS patients were growing up in

Ontario, showed 84 percent of residents of Ontario were of European

ancestry.

Meanwhile, paediatric MS patients were more likely to report Caribbean,

Middle Eastern or Asian ancestry, accurately mirroring the population

shift as detailed by the 2001 census.

" The common thread in all of this is that 100 percent of the paediatric

population and 79 percent of the adult population grew up in Ontario, "

says Dr. Banwell. " This, combined with the ancestry data, suggests a

prevailing influence of environment on MS risk. "

According to the MS Society, this is an important study because the

relative contributions of ancestry, country of birth and residence as

determinants of MS risk have never been explored in the paediatric MS

population.

" The change in immigration patterns, and the presence of

well-established paediatric and adult MS programs, provided researchers

with the unique opportunity to evaluate these factors as determinants of

MS risk, " says Dr. J. McIlroy, national medical advisor for the

MS Society of Canada. " The more complete a picture we can paint of MS

and its risk factors, the closer we will be to finding the cause, and

ultimately, the cure. "

The study was funded by the MS Scientific Research Foundation which

receives the majority of its funding from the MS Society of Canada.

http://www.todmaffin.com/blogs/ms/2006/05/28/multiple-sclerosis-risk-influenced-\

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