The cause may be multifaceted, that given a genetic predisposition or a factor not
yet fully understood, there may be a number of triggers which can precipitate the
presentation of from one to many neurological symptoms which are ultimately described
as ‘multiple sclerosis’.
Common triggers may be stressors of various kinds such as:
Psychological.
Environmental toxins.
Food allergies.
Physical traumas.
Infections.
Underlying Conditions
It may be that several of these stressors, or others, which may occur at a given
time, if an underlying genetic predisposition exists, may push the body over the
edge to become the condition described as Multiple Sclerosis.
There may be no single cause of MS, and there may never be a real cure, until the
possible genetic predisposition is unravelled and the corresponding trigger[s] are
uncovered.
Most scientific and allopathic research into MS is directed towards a ‘magic bullet’
which has failed miserably to help the majority of people with MS.
Given the status of MS research today, people with MS who live with it as part of
their lives are on their own.
Currently the cause of MS is unknown - It is considered by some, that differing environmental
factors may trigger an inborn susceptibility to MS. A genetic predisposition to the
disease.
A genetic predisposition from a genetic or hereditary disease, is directly passed
on from parent to child. In the case of MS this does not happen.
Having a family member with MS may increases the likelihood of developing MS from
about 1 in 1000 to 1 in 50. It therefore may make a person more predisposed to the
disease but it is still unlikely that that they will actually develop it.
Also if MS were a genetic illness, then in the case of identical twins (who have
an identical genetic make up), if one twin developed MS, then we would expect the
other one to get MS too but it is about 20-30% of identical twins who may both develop
MS.
That is why it is considered by some that various environmental factors may also
be involved in the development of MS in genetically susceptible individuals.
When a person migrates from a high-risk region to a low risk region at a young age
they appear to take on the lower risk.
Despite many years of searching for an answer it is not known exactly what triggers
the disease and as a consequence damage to the myelin sheathing in the body’s central
nervous system.
There may be considered thought that it could be a combination of several factors
and that there may be no single dominant causal agent.
Probably many people who live with multiple sclerosis develop their own theory? It
may be thought that MS is not a disease, that it may be a degenerative process and
a syndrome of otherwise unexplained neurological symptoms, most usually sharing the
characterisation of lesions, and is possibly a group of different but closely related
neurological problems.
The disease process is associated with inflammation and ultimately the loss of myelin
covering (demyelination) of the nerves (axons) within the central nervous system.
The disease process of demyelination causes disruption to nerve transmission within
the central nervous system outward bound to the peripheral nervous system leading
to the disruption of many body functions.
The resulting multiple patches of scarring, known as sclerosis, gives the disease
multiple sclerosis a description of what is happening.
