An article published in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology sets out to demonstrate that multiple sclerosis is not a disease of the immune system.
Dr. Angelique Corthals, a forensic anthropologist and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, explained that her research shows the disease, once thought to be an autoimmune disease, is actually caused by faulty lipid metabolism.
Corthals believes that her work could guide researchers to better diagnosis and treatments for the disease.
"Each time a genetic risk factor has shown a significant increase in MS risk in one population, it has been found to be unimportant in another," Corthals said. "Pathogens like Epstein-Barr virus have been implicated, but there's no explanation for why genetically similar populations with similar pathogen loads have drastically different rates of disease. The search for MS triggers in the context of autoimmunity simply hasn't led to any unifying conclusions about the etiology of the disease."
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, there are more than 400,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis in the country. As no cure has been found for the disease yet, Americans should consider investing in life insurance to prepare for the future.