| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS | REGISTER |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
SHORT REPORT |
Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr C Hawkes, Essex Centre for Neuroscience, Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, Essex RM7 0BE, UK;
chrishawkes{at}msn.com
ABSTRACT
It is proposed that multiple sclerosis may be transmitted chiefly by sexual contact. Arguments favouring this include: migration studies that suggest a transmissible agent in adolescence; clusters of multiple sclerosis which have occurred in low prevalence areas following entry of young males; the similarity of multiple sclerosis to tropical spastic paraplegia, a known sexually transmitted infection with resemblance to primary progressive multiple sclerosis; an increased rate in drug misusers; a similar age of onset and sex pattern to that found in sexually transmitted disease; increased incidence of multiple sclerosis in those using oral contraceptives; low multiple sclerosis rates in societies with a strict moral code; longitudinal shifts in sex prevalence that show an increase in women after the sexual revolution of the 1960s; and important exceptions to the worldwide distribution corresponding to countries with permissive attitudes to sex. Family, conjugal pair, twin, and adoption studies are compatible with an infectious cause of multiple sclerosis if this is sexually transmitted. It is not proposed that sexual transmission is the only cause but that inherited factors create a susceptibility to a sexually transmitted neurotropic agent. It is hoped this hypothesis might encourage a new direction of neurological research.
Keywords: multiple sclerosis; sexually transmitted infection; epidemiology
Related Article
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2002 73: 358.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  O. Lidegaard and A. L. Svendsen Sexual habits before multiple sclerosis: a National case control study Multiple Sclerosis, January 1, 2008; 14(1): 67 - 72. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A.H. Maghzi, M. Etemadifar, V. Shaygannejad, M. Saadatnia, M. Salehi, and A. Hassanzadeh Conjugal multiple sclerosis in Isfahan, Iran: a population-based study Multiple Sclerosis, June 1, 2007; 13(5): 673 - 675. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D A Dyment, I M L Yee, G C Ebers, A D Sadovnick, and for the Canadian Collaborative Study Group Multiple sclerosis in stepsiblings: recurrence risk and ascertainment J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, February 1, 2006; 77(2): 258 - 259. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. Basso, R. Campi, M. Frydenberg, N. Koch-Henriksen, H. Bronnum-Hansen, and J. Olsen Multiple sclerosis in women having children by multiple partners. A population-based study in Denmark Multiple Sclerosis, December 1, 2004; 10(6): 621 - 625. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M O'Donovan Infection and multiple sclerosis J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, May 1, 2003; 74(5): 693 - 693. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B Anlar Infection and multiple sclerosis J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, May 1, 2003; 74(5): 692 - 693. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Is There Evidence for Sexual Transmission of Multiple Sclerosis? Journal Watch Neurology, December 27, 2002; 2002(1227): 4 - 4. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Multiple sclerosis may be sexually acquired Sex. Transm. Inf., December 1, 2002; 78(6): 444 - 444. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G J Stewart Infection and multiple sclerosis--a new hypothesis? J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, October 1, 2002; 73(4): 358 - 359. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
Read all eLetters
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS | REGISTER |
