Help explain: So...warm birth city - low MS but heat aggravates Ms????

[OrangeMetal]

So, I don't really get this, being new this. Apparently the research (and recent poll here) is saying if you are born in a warm city, you are less likely to get MS.

BUT! if warmth helped, we are not moving to warm climates if we have MS now because heat aggravates MS.

Huh? I'm so confused.

I was born in a cold climate and lived there for first 8 years, but moved to deep south when 8 years old. Very hot. wouldn't that have helped NOT get MS according to this theory? OR, it's only the first 8 years of your life that this theory counts.

When I first heard of the theory, my thought was, ok, move to a warm climate. Then when summer came and I had horrible symptoms and I got really frustrated with understanding this.

Anyway got some kind of answer or understanding of this? Marco? Knuckle? misslux? Anyone?

[hunterd]

they were saying that there closer to the equator you were born, the more sunlight you received ( thus the more vitamin D ). They were not saying that heat prevented MS.

[misslux]

Yep, what HunterD said, but there is no hard and fast rule to sunlight exposure. You might find this thread interesting:

http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=130770

[Seasha]

Hi OrangeMetal - there are many factors involved with MS - exposure to sunlight (Vit. D), geographic factors, environmental and viral components, genetics, etc.

To help you understand the epidemiology of MS, here is a lengthy summary from the NMSS http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...-ms/index.aspx

It is well worth reading and hope it clears things up for you.
btw, I was always a sun worshipper and it wasn't until the last 4-5 years that the heat affected me. I've had MS for almost 25 years.

[SNOOPY]

wouldn't that have helped NOT get MS according to this theory?

Theory.

That is the key to understanding MS or adding in more confusion

Everything about this disease is still Theory.

[MSW1963]

Quoted from website
http://www.mscenter.org/education/ms-the-basics

'The incidence of MS is higher North of the 38th parallel', a long held theory I've read for years, is that those born north of the 38th parallel who relocate after the first 14yrs of life before moving south of the 38th, would keep their higher prevelence of developing MS, and vice versa.

I'm not sure if the theory takes into account that non-western countries closer to the equator are in the 'developing world' where medical care is scars/ce? I don't really know but it seems to me a huge factor that I don't hear much about when the ratios for developing MS are highlighted.

[misslux]

I absolutely think there is a correlation between rate of MS and availability of health care.

They say Canada has one of the highest rates of MS, but is that because of our distance from the equator or because basic health care and diagnostic testing is covered coupled with promotion of regular check ups a d preventative care?

Also, this article touches upon how rates of MS in India aren't accurate because rural populations are without health care (page 7 in the below).

http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/R...20Notebook.pdf

So this definitely begs the question of how many people worldwide are undiagnosed because of lack of health care?

[MSW1963]

I was born and raised well into adulthood in the deep, deep deep south. I relocated to the UK for a time, returned to the US working in SC. I am of Norweigan decent, so if anything, that may follow the 'north of the 38th' hypothosis, maybe?

I tend to think it's more about the availability of health care, and so much more than we currently know about what causes MS.

[Marco]

Short answer is: It is not the warmth that benefits MS patients, but the amount of Vitamin D they obtain from sun exposure.

Longer Answer:
When your natural skin is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet B light your body makes vitamin D. Most sunscreen products block out these rays greatly reducing the amount of vitamin D you might produce. Elderly and darker-skinned individuals produce less vitamin D than younger and lighter-skinned people. Normally, a fair-skinned individual will make 1,000 IU or Vitamin D per minute of sun exposure in shorts/tank top. People closer to the equator have a greater opportunity to obtain sufficient vitamin D from the sun than those further away. There's even a detailed online Vitamin D Calculator to determine what your daily sun exposure should be here:
http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/...andMED_v2.html


Benefits of Vitamin D
Scientists have discovered that vitamin D may delay the onset and slow the progression of MS. Low levels of Vitamin D are also linked to more severe MS symptoms. It's even suspected, that a mother's vitamin D levels during pregnancy may impact the future MS risk of the child. Significant research is still being conducted between the link between Vitamin D and MS.

Heat is quite a different matter. Excessive heat exposure symptoms for normal people include: confusion, dizziness, fatigue, headache, muscle cramps. The above symptoms aren’t that different from what many ms patients routinely experience. For people with ms, heat exposure can increase inflammation and/or disrupt nerve conduction making many existing symptoms worse. Heat intolerance in MS is often referred to as Uhthoff’s Syndrome. note: Some patients using the 4-AP or Ampyra note a higher heat tolerance level in addition to a boost in walking endurance.

[J-Bo]

Is it possible to have MS and not be heat intolerant? I'm more often too cold than too hot, except for my feet, which are crazy sensitive to heat, and react with intense neuropathic pain. I have to sleep with feet exposed and the rest of me all bundled up.

[OrangeMetal]

Ok, thanks all and Marco. So one could live in some of the northern areas or Antartica or other very cold places like Alaska --and I understand it's not temp-- and if you get enough sunlight, you might not be one of the many such areas that have high rates of MS.

I'm just seeing the crazy lopsided maps of who gets it and how it's nonexistent in so many closer to the equator areas.

Of course I can see how one could get enough sun in a cold climate but it is hard to go outside when it's so cold. That's why I said "warm climates" just 'cuz by default it's harder to go outside in the cold. Even if the sun is shining.

So if indeed there is hard core double blinded study type research --or again this is just a theory-- on this I wonder why it's not more balanced out with those in Canada, say, and those near the equator. People could be outside a lot in those cold climates.

I grew up in a cold climate but was outside a lot so I think I got enough sun.

I did read the suggested links but it does make me wonder especially with people who HAVE gotten enough sun growing up in a near equator or far from equator area.

[palmtree]

I have really wondered this myself. I grew up in a warm climate with lots of sunbathing. However, my ancestors are from Scotland, Ireland, and England.

My aunt from Russia had a terrible case of MS yet lived in a warm climate most of her life.

My theory is that the sun exposure affects our genetic predisposition. So it doesn't matter where you are born. It's where your ancestors were born. Only my theory.

Also, I agree that civilizations closer to the equator rely less on science and medicine and more on cultural and spiritual approaches, thus fewer diagnoses of MS.

[BigA]

It doesn't matter where YOU were born. You were born where you were and you have MS.

However, on average, those born closer to the equator who also lived there until age 14, tend... tend to have lower rates of MS.

You have to remember this for all statistics. They apply to the group and not the individual, though they may be helpful. Would you feel any wealthier if you found out that average income went up in your zip code? How about being more likely to have a heart attack if you eat fried foods? How about smoking and cancer? I'm sure we all know someone who smoked to a ripe old age.

You still have MS no matter where you were born. As for warmth, I suppose it is ironic, that warmer climates (where there is more sun... and don't forget our mothers would have also had more when we were in the womb) are uncomfortable places for many (but not all) with MS.

One more point: Warmth does not make MS worse. It can make your symptoms worse temporarily, but your disease severity doesn't change.

[Lianne]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forums, although I've had RR MS for 29 yrs. I started to have symptoms every day 6 yrs. ago. Although I have leg weakness, I'm still walking. I found this thread interesting as I grew up in Miami and lived there for 18 yrs. It wasn't until after I moved to the San Francisco bay area that I came down with MS. Every relapse I've ever had has occured during the hottest summer months. The last and worst relapse occured a day after being stuck on the freeway in traffic for a few hours in a car without an air conditioner. I'm now very careful about not being out in hot weather.

[James1123]

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT VITAMIN D DOES PLAY A ROLE IN GETTING MS. ALTHOUGH I WAS BORN, RAISED AND STILL LIVE IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHERE THERE IS PLENTY OS SUNSHINE. I TEND TO THINK THAT THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE BODY THAT DOESN'T PRODUCE ENOUGH VITAMIN D AND THAT CAUSES MS. THIS CONDITION WOULD BE MADE WORSE IF YOU LIVE SOMEWHERE WITHOUT LESS SUNSHINE. BUT THIS WON'T BE EXPLORED UNTIL IT IS DETERMINED THAT VITAMIN D IS A CAUSE OF MS.
ALSO, IT JUST MAKES SENSE THAT A PLACE THAT DOESN'T HAVE VERY GOOD OR VERY LITTLE HEALTHCARE WOULD HAVE MORE UNDIAGNOSED CASES OF MS. I MEAN HOW CAN A PERSON BE DIAGNOSED IF THERE ARE NO DOCTORS OR INADEQUATE TESTING.