Multiple sclerosis causes are still being studied. Many scientists believe that multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder, meaning that the body mistakenly attacks part of itself. Genetic and environmental factors may contribute to multiple sclerosis causes, but more research is needed in these areas before we will know for sure.
Multiple Sclerosis Causes: An Introduction
The cause of
multiple sclerosis is still not known. For reasons not yet understood, the fatty substance called myelin (which covers nerve fibers) is damaged in random areas. The areas of damage are known as plaques. Myelin normally insulates entire nerve fibers. It helps nerve messages to be quickly and properly conducted to and from the brain. The
symptoms of multiple sclerosis depend on where these plaques occur in the central nervous system.
Multiple Sclerosis Causes and the Autoimmune Process
Currently, most scientists believe that the loss of myelin is caused by an autoimmune process. This means that the body mistakenly reacts to some part of itself as though it was a foreign invader and attacks it. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the body destroys areas of its own myelin.
Multiple Sclerosis Causes and Genetics
In addition to a possible autoimmune process, increasing scientific evidence suggests that genetics may play a role in determining a person's susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.
Some populations, such as Gypsies, Eskimos, and Bantus, never get multiple sclerosis. Native Indians of North and South America, the Japanese, and other Asian populations have very low incidence rates. It is unclear whether this is due mostly to genetic or environmental factors.
In the population at large, the chance of developing multiple sclerosis is less than a tenth of 1 percent. However, if one person in a family has multiple sclerosis, that person's first-degree relatives -- parents, children, and siblings -- have a 1 percent to 3 percent chance of getting the disease.
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