Canadians. WE'RE #1...... for MS.

Multiple sclerosis:

Multiple sclerosis (MS), also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata, is an inflammatory disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a wide range of signs and symptoms,[1][2] including physical, mental,[2] and sometimes psychiatric problems.[3] MS takes several forms, with new symptoms either occurring in isolated attacks (relapsing forms) or building up over time (progressive forms).[4] Between attacks, symptoms may disappear completely; however, permanent neurological problems often occur, especially as the disease advances.

en.wikipedia.org...

And yes, we're number 1.... by a long shot:

It's a disease that strikes down adults at their prime -- and it's found Ground Zero in Canada.

Multiple sclerosis afflicts Canadians at a rate that far outpaces anyplace else in the world, a new survey has found.

"It's really shocking … It is almost like a Canadian disease," said Karen Lee, of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

Nearly 100,000 Canadians have the disease, a rate that's 28% higher than the country with the second-highest mark, Denmark, and nine times higher than the global average, according to the survey by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation.

www.torontosun.com...

MS is more apt to manifest in countries further from the equator but there's many of those countries. Why is this so prevalent in Canada then? Research hasn't explained this yet. Thoughts?

Maybe because its so dang cold in canada im in florida and i dont hear much about ms here?

Epidemiology and PrevalenceOnsetGeographic DistributionPopulation StudiesGenetic Factors Onset There are about 300,000 patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis in the North America today. The age of onset peaks between 20 and 30 years. Almost 70% of patients manifest symptoms between ages 21 and 40. Disease rarely occurs prior to 10 or after 60 years of age. However, patients as young as 3 and as old as 67 years of age have been described. Like other immuno- mediated diseases, females are affected more frequently than males (1.4 to 3.1 times as many women than men affected.)






  
Geographic Distribution

There is a very specific geographic distribution of this disease around the world. A significantly higher incidence of the disease is found in the northernmost latitudes of the northern and the southern hemispheres compared to southernmost latitudes. This observation is based on the incidence of the disease in Scandinavia, northern United States and Canada, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The data from migration studies shows that if the exposure to a higher risk environment occurs during adolescence (before 15 years of age,) the migrant assumes the higher risk of the environment. This concept is nicely illustrated in studies of native-born South African white population with low incidence of the disease versus high incidence of MS among white immigrants from Great Britain, where the disease is much more prevalent (Saud A. Sadiq,James R. Miller et al.) "Epidemics" of MS have been reported and these provide further evidence of importance of environmental factors in MS. The most notable "epidemic" was described on the Faroe Islands after they were occupied by British troops in W.W.II. Similar increases in incidence of the disease were seen on Shetland and Orkney Islands, in Iceland, and in Sardinia. A specific "point agent" for these "epidemics" never was identified.

Map of Risk

source link to article


a reply to: intrepid

Okay, that's just... weird.

Maybe the fact that Canada is numero uno could be some sort of tip off for scientists to try to figure out what causes the disease ?

Surely it must be environmental then ?

Canada is a stewing pot, but we do have a high percentage of Northern European citizens (Irish, Scottish, etc)... so maybe there's something in that ? But then again, if that's the case you would think countries like Scotland, for example, would be higher per capita than Canada...

Freaky, no matter which way you look at it.

originally posted by: CranialSponge
Canada is a stewing pot, but we do have a high percentage of Northern European citizens (Irish, Scottish, etc)... so maybe there's something in that ? But then again, if that's the case you would think countries like Scotland, for example, would be higher per capita than Canada...

Exactly. And from my cursory search the Inuit seem almost immune. That still doesn't explain why we with mostly European bloodlines get this. It's minimal in those countries.

a reply to: ATF1886

Maybe because its so dang cold in canada im in florida and i dont hear much about ms here?

That's an interesting thought.

Maybe constant exposure to extreme cold temperatures does some sort of damage to the protective nerve covering ?




Either that or maybe it's all the poutine eating and beer drinking we do up here.

From the comment section:

LSHS • a year ago

What Ms Lee, probably one of the most irritating people working for the MS Society, doesn't say is that "multiple sclerosis" simply means "multiple lesions", and that a number of other conditions cause multiple lesions in the brain and cause neurological symptoms that mimic "MS" symptoms. She doesn't say that there is no definitive test for MS. She doesn't admit that there is no "treatment" for what the MS specialists call MS. She won't admit that the drugs the MS Society and the MS specialists push don't work or actually kill.

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: CranialSponge
Canada is a stewing pot, but we do have a high percentage of Northern European citizens (Irish, Scottish, etc)... so maybe there's something in that ? But then again, if that's the case you would think countries like Scotland, for example, would be higher per capita than Canada...

Exactly. And from my cursory search the Inuit seem almost immune. That still doesn't explain why we with mostly European bloodlines get this. It's minimal in those countries.

Okay... then maybe it has something to do with the amount of melanine in our skin ?

Northern Europeans are very fair skinned, whereas Inuit have a much darker skin colouring ?

Does melanin serve any other purpose to the body I wonder ?

There are three basic types of melanin: eumelanin, pheomelanin, and neuromelanin. The most common type of melanin is eumelanin. There are two types of eumelanin- brown eumelanin and black eumelanin. Pheomelanin is a cysteine-containing red polymer of benzothiazine units largely responsible for red hair, among other pigmentation. Neuromelanin is found in the brain, though its function remains obscure.

Wiki


Edit to add:

Maybe melanin serves as a protective defense to the cells covering the nerves ?

a reply to: ATF1886

You highlight a great point. But I don't think it's the cold - it's the sunlight.

When my SO was diagnosed with MS a few years ago, the first thing the Doctor recommended was high doses of vitamin D.

Apparently, the theory of sunlight & MS has been around since the 70's, but research is still ongoing

Interesting Reading

Intrepid: Extremely interesting information there about Inuit immunity. Cheers for sharing

I think that the connection to the lack of Vitamin D sounds reasonable.

Salmon though is a good source for D.

I read somewhere that women are diagnosed 3 xs more often than men...

Is that because "generally" the women would be in the home and the men would be outside more often and
absorb more of the naturally occurring Vitamin D....

a reply to: CranialSponge

Very interesting point!

And very much ties in with the Vitamin D theory.

I'm off to do some armchair research - nice one CranialSponge

Itsa better to go with poutine definitely better a reply to: CranialSponge

Well then we need an excurzion of CANADIAS to Florida for our free sunlight program!! a reply to: lizziejayne

a reply to: lizziejayne

That's the only difference I can think of between Inuits and standard Canadians.

Other than the fact that they also tend to have a much higher meat diet (seal, whale blubber, etc) than the rest of us.


Neuromelanin in particular, sounds like an interesting aspect of melanin that may play a part... they have yet to figure out what purpose it serves.

Surely a darker skinned person would have more neuromelanin in the brain than a fair skinned person who has far less melanin all around ?

Armchair research... gotta love it !

a reply to: intrepid

Some people can't turn off the chemical enzymes that cause the scavenging of the sheathing of nerves. Now the nerve sheathing is broken down by a sulfur compound similar to chonderite. I'm guessing that if a person's ancestors would have eaten a lot of soups made with cartilageous bones or eaten meats including silverskin, they might have altered enzymes that allow more of this enzyme in their digestive system. If the chemicals are not used up in digestion, they may build up in the body. They then knaw at the joints and nerve coatings. Nerve coatings also contain a lot of elastins, if the body isn't getting enough elastins it will rob it from where it has the most.

This is just a guess based on much research on this and related conditions. Someone who can test this hypothesis would need to research it. You could possibly lower the consumption of sulfur compounds or boost consumption of the elements that are getting robbed from the nerve sheathing. Look at the silverskin of meats, it is similar to nerve sheathing.

That's shocking it's mostly Canadians.

I've read someplace aspartamine is a contributor to MS, Could it be Canadians consume more diet coke?

a reply to: CranialSponge

Other than the fact that they also tend to have a much higher meat diet (seal, whale blubber, etc) than the rest of us.

Low carb diet and possibly ketogenic (neuroprotective).

FWIW,
My sister was diagnosed at 26 years of age, and died at 29.

She lived in Florida...
That was nearly 40 years ago, and she seems to have been the only one of 4 siblings to get it.

knock on wood...

interesting enough if you look at a map of pollution it appears that areas with lower levels of pollution but which share water currents with nations which have high pollution levels like say china towards canada and denmark from the rest of europe, have higher levels of ms than the places producing pollution seem to, not to mention the fact that smoking is suggested as being a major factor in the possible cause of ms.

i bet the pollution(and smoking) with it's accompanying radiation triggers the immune system into overdrive, causing excessive inflammation and erosion of the myelin and leaving scarring.
i'm also betting lack of vitamin d from people being indoors too much doesn't help either.

a reply to: namehere

... triggers the immune system into overdrive, causing excessive inflammation and erosion of the myelin and leaving scarring.

Even if its posted on every wall and constanly said very loud, there have NEVER been definitive proof that MS is caused by immune reaction! The immune system may in fact be there just to clean some dying tissues.

I remember a case of an autopsyed woman having MS that had a "plaque" just in formation at the time of death, and guess what, there was no immunity response yet around the plaque. To this day it is still a medical mistery!

a reply to: TNMockingbird

It's a disease affecting Caucasian women disproportionately. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. I didn't know about the Canadian correlation.

Auto-immune disease. Don't mess with the human immune system --it can kill.