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FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Pregnancy<\/a> can delay the onset of multiple sclerosis<\/a> (MS<\/a>) by more than three years, researchers report.<\/p>\n The international study found those who’d been pregnant<\/a> had their first MS symptoms<\/a> an average of 3.3 years later than those who’d never been pregnant<\/a>. Having carried a baby to term delayed MS<\/a> onset by an average of 3.4 years, the researchers determined.<\/p>\n More than 2.5 million people worldwide have MS<\/a>, which is four times more common in women than men. And MS<\/a> is frequently diagnosed in women of childbearing years.<\/p>\n These new findings could help improve understanding of the causes of MS<\/a> and the potential for hormone therapy<\/a> to delay the onset of symptoms, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n Pregnancy<\/a> may reduce the abnormal over-activity of the immune system that causes MS<\/a>, potentially long-term, said study leader Vilija Jokubaitis, of the neuroscience department at Monash University in Australia.<\/p>\n “At present, we don’t know exactly how pregnancy slows the development of MS, but we believe that it has to do with alterations made to a woman’s DNA. We are now seeking funding opportunities to explore this exciting possibility,” she said.<\/p>\n The study included data on more than 3,600 women seen at four MS clinics in Australia and the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n Researchers relied on the MSBase database of people with MS in 35 countries. The database is led by study co-author Helmut Butzkueven, also of the university’s department of neuroscience.<\/p>\n The database is invaluable for long-term research into MS, Butzkueven said.<\/p>\n “The data provides a big picture view of MS causes, like this paper, and also helps clinicians decide on the best treatment strategies to prevent long-term disability in MS,” Butzkueven noted. “Many of our huge questions need 10 years or more to get the answers, and only long-term systematic registry datasets like MSBase, with buy-in from 10s of 1,000s of patients, can do this.”<\/p>\n The study results were published Sept. 14 in the journal JAMA Neurology<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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