Multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands

Abstract

Detailed questionnaires were completed in 1978–79 by 23 of the 28 then known resident Faroese multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 127 controls. These controls were divided into 69 Group A (patient sibs and other relatives), 37 Group B (matched neighbor controls, their spouses and sibs, plus patient's spouse), and 21 Group C (distant matched controls, spouses, relatives living where MS patients never resided and British troops were not encamped during the war). No differences between cases and controls were found for education, occupation, types of residence, bathing, sanitary or drinking facilities, and nature of house construction or heating. Detailed dietary histories, available for half the subjects, revealed no difference, cases versus controls, for four age periods between age 0 and 30 years, and for 16 specified foodstuffs. Animal exposures showed overall no consistent differences by location or type of animal. There was a tendency to greater exposure to British troops during the war for cases versus Groups A and B, but this did not attain statistical significance. Vaccinations for smallpox, tetanus and diphtheria were less common in the MS; no difference was found for other vaccinations. Except for a relative deficit in the cases for rubella and (insignificantly) for measles, mumps and chicken pox, reported illnesses were equally common among all groups. Operations, hospitalizations and injuries did not differentiate the groups, nor did age at menarche for women. Neurologic symptoms were significantly more common in the cases than in the controls.

Restraint Stress Fails to Render C57BL/6 Mice Susceptible to Theiler’s Virus-Induced Demyelination

“…As such, both the onset and exacerbation of MS are thought to be influenced by multiple factors, including infectious agents, genetic composition and environment [1] . Evidence suggesting an infectious agent in the etiology of MS includes the association of multiple viral infections with MS [2] , the precedence of relapses by infection [3,4] and epidemiological studies demonstrating MS outbreaks in areas with no previous history of the disease, most notable in the Faroe Islands [5] . Additionally, human viral infections are known to cause demyelination both through direct lysis of oligodendrocytes, as occurs in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy brought on by polyoma JC virus infection, and indirectly, as is the case in post-infectious (PI) acute disseminated encephalomyelitis initiated by vaccination or infection [6] and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis caused by measles virus infection [7] .…”

Humoral immune response to EBV in multiple sclerosis is associated with disease activity on MRI

“…It is likely that an interaction between genetic and environmental factors causes and possibly perpetuates the disease. 4,5 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human herpesvirus infecting Ͼ90% of the healthy population. Seroepidemiologic evidence shows the risk of developing MS is greater in individuals previously exposed to EBV, the combined risk of MS being 2.3 times higher in subjects with a history of infectious mononucleosis, 6,7 whereas the risk of developing MS in seronegative subjects is extremely low (OR 0.06 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.13]).…”

Epidemiology in multiple sclerosis: a pilgrim’s progress

“…12). Our first full paper on multiple sclerosis in the Faroes was published in 1979 (Kurtzke and Hyllested, 1979), followed by six other numbered publications and a vigorous defence of the validity of our findings (Kurtzke and Hyllested, 1988)-all of which were later epitomized in a single paper (Kurtzke and Heltberg, 2001). …”

“…The former were mainly 'spot surveys' that could tell little about regions not studied, and all of them were published since 1948. With different methods and practices, it was really not proper to compare directly one Figure 5 Leonard T. Kurland, MD, DrPH (1921-2001 survey with another. However, taken individually, each rate with its 95% confidence interval gave one locus on a plot of rates by geographical latitude.…”