Finn, you are so good and yippee I get to go to Paris
Thanks! You're way ahead of me on this.
I'll try to stick to the thread
I can tell you that probably because I'm so new to MS, I didn't find the research findings that MS may not be an autoimmune disease all that surprising.
Because it's all so new to me and I know so little, I'd already thought to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?" I answered myself by thinking "There's something fundamentally wrong with some basic assumption(s) about MS because it's just too weird to have so little progress for so long."
That thought is actually one, but not the main reason that I started to and keep pursuing information on MS and hormones. I'll try to explain and hope you're smiling
One of the basic things that it seems there is some general agreement about with MS is that it strikes women much more frequently than men and that generally speaking, there is a tendency for men to experience more progressive forms of the disease.
Quite honestly, it continues to be beyond my comprehension that researchers have probably known about these ( ? other) gender differences for many years, but as far as I can tell, MS researchers for the most part have basically ignored doing a lot of research on one of the most fundamental factors that differentiates genders, i.e. hormones.
We say in the US, "What's up with that?" Is this one of those basic pieces that in my mind might be missing? Of course, I have no idea. Could be though.
I actually saw an online story today that depending on one's interpretation reinforces the research that MS is not an autoimmune disorder and at the same time reinforces the need for research on hormones. In this case, the stress hormone cortisol.
Quoting: "The negative effects of stress on exacerbation of multiple sclerosis are at least as great as the positive effects of a class of drugs widely considered to produce clinically meaningful results", Mohr and colleagues write in the March 20 issue of the British Medical Journal. "We hope these findings will open investigation into new avenues of managing multiple sclerosis, either through stress management or through pharmacological management of potential (hormonal) or immune responses to stress."
That leads to my other basic reaction to MS may not be an autoimmune disorder. That is, as suggested in your post, it encourages some creative geniuses who haven't been able to pursue their ideas to come forth and we'll all have answers before we know it.
Sorry about the length. I think your English is better than mine by the way.
Sharon