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Multiple sclerosis shows a "striking" association with obesity at age 20 years that strongly interacts with genetic susceptibility, according to an analysis of data from two case-control studies that examined environmental and genetic risk factors for MS.

This relationship between adolescent obesity and MS is of the same magnitude as the separate associations between MS and carriage of the high-risk HLA-DRB1*15 allele, absence of the protective HLA-A*02 allele, and smoking, said Dr. Anna Karin Hedström of the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and her associates..... Read More - http://www.ms-uk.org/environmentalfactors

Stands to reason they would be related. Obesity is a result of an unhealthy life style. The good news is it can be reversed when you change your life style. When we start eating what we were designed to eat the body can heal itself. There is always hope if we are willing to change.

I just spent the weekend discussing endothelial dysfunction, NO imbalance and the cardiovascular connection to MS and diseases of neurodegeneration with researchers. It's very real, and being looked at in labs around the globe. We're seeing many of the same environemntal risk factors, including increased serum levels of "bad" cholesterol, high C reactive protein and thrombin levels, lack of UV rays/sun exposure, processed food/trans fat diets, lack of exercise, smoking, endothelial dysfunction.

While we wait for all of the science to come in, it appears that doing "the things we can change" to improve cardiovascular health is a wise move. As Dr. Paula Grammas, Alzheimer's specialist, told me-- the connection to cardiovascular health begins decades before the disease manifests. The heart and brain are connected, and the endothelium connects them.

Here is the link to program and abstracts for the International Society of Neurovascular Disease (ISNVD) 4th annual conference. If there are any questions on these, come visit the CCSVI Forum to discuss. The science is moving forward.
http://www.isnvdconference.org/program/ ... -book.html

lifestyle is an environmental factor that can be modified--
cheer

I have to admit, vanity is a better motivator for me than decreasing my risk of chronic disease.