Brain injury doubles MS risk

[NHE]

Previous traumatic brain injury doubles the risk of developing MS
http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis. ... loping+MS/

Rehabilitation physicians and neuroscientists from Taiwan have found, in a very large case-control study involving nearly 300,000 people, that traumatic brain injury nearly doubles the risk of developing multiple sclerosis over the subsequent six years. Using insurance databases, they examined the records of 72,765 people with traumatic brain injury and their risk of developing MS over the next six years, and compared this with the incidence of MS in a matched group of 218,295 people from the database who had not had such an injury. The risk of developing MS over the subsequent six years was nearly double (1.97, p<0.01) for those with a head injury. On average in this study, MS developed around 18 months after the injury.

This confirms the belief that many people with MS have had that a significant head injury can predispose to MS. There are a number of mechanisms through which this association may operate, including disruption of the blood-brain barrier, vascular disruption and possibly the stress of the event. This ties in to some extent with recent groundbreaking research from the inventor of the MRI, that MS may be associated with blockages to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the neck related to trauma (http://tinyurl.com/cczxuh2).

[NHE]

I received a bad knock to the head when I was about 5½. An older family friend was swinging on a soccer goal crossbar. It came loose and knocked me on the head. I was in the hospital for several days with a severe concussion. In addition to losing part of my hearing in my left ear, my face was also crooked for many years afterwards.

[HappyPoet]

Not sure how to answer. Lots of wipe-outs while skiing in which I landed on my head numerous times and broke my neck twice, but no officially diagnosed TBI nor healthcare of any kind after any of the falls--growing up without health insurance meant growing up without complaining. If severe headaches, seeing stars, double-vision, and dizziness count as TBI, though, then I'll vote yes.

[blossom]

fell through a hay loft got knocked out - picnic table i was standing on broke hit my head was knocked out that was younger probably had more i remember having some pretty big what we called goose bumps on my head. teen yrs. car wreck. late 20's got a hard hit to base of skull was in hosp. for that due to tingles and numbness in hand and foot. traction fixed that. early 40's took a very hard fall did not hit head but whip lashed and stoved r. side badly. started getting footdrop in a week or so. downhill from then on.

[CaliReader]

Two concussions between 16 and 18. Two car accidents with whiplash, one at 30, one at 40.

[bananana]

I had a bike accident when I was 11. Wasnt wearing a helmet. Fell and hit my head so hard I got amnesia for about 24 hours. (Needless to say I dont remember any of it). I made a full recovery, but I had my 1st MS symptom at 16. Dx'd at 17.

Totally fits the pattern of MS diagnosis after 6 years. Very interesting...

[xpsychiatricmd]

In my previous "incarnation" as a physician, I encountered several MS patients who had some head trauma before the diagnosis.

[ljelome]

I did fall alot since my childhood. When a baby, i had fallen on my head, in elementary school i did fall a lot n injured my head not hospitalized though. Just bruising n swelling on many parts of my head mostly the front part.

Many years later i got diagnosed with MS.

[ljelome]

Dear NHE,
If i may suggest, would it be better if a kind of survey like this could involve all the member of this forum?
How u're gonna do that? why not asking all the member of this forum through private message to participate in this survey. If u think this survey is important, i think u should be the one who's active in searching n asking for participant to join in, not the other way around. Cause many of us maybe doesn't aware of this survey, if we didn't get any notification.
Thank u.

[NHE]

Dear NHE,
If i may suggest, would it be better if a kind of survey like this could involve all the member of this forum?
How u're gonna do that? why not asking all the member of this forum through private message to participate in this survey. If u think this survey is important, i think u should be the one who's active in searching n asking for participant to join in, not the other way around. Cause many of us maybe doesn't aware of this survey, if we didn't get any notification.

Anyone can participate in the poll. In fact, I'm surprised that more people haven't voted. I posted it in the general forum. It's here for anyone to see and vote. I could make it sticky so that it stayed at the top of the forum. But then that would be saying that I think my poll is more important than any other member's poll and I don't agree with that. I could also make a subforum just for polls. However, in that case, every forum would need its own poll subforum. Maybe we should take a poll to see how many people like that idea?

[ljelome]

Dear NHE,
Why did u do this polling? what is ur purpose? to prove a theory that u know, isn't it?
Well, i see this forum is of great number of people to do the polling of whatever theory regarding MS that we have. We should use the experiences of every member of this forum, if we want to make an important conclusion out of our theory.
This is exactly what i want to suggest to this forum. To use every member's database to conclude something from their journey with MS, their pre-MS experiences, the treatment that works or does not work for them, etc.
Wow, i see a lot of things that this forum can contribute to answer the MS questions.
Well, u know better about the rule. So i leave the matter for u to decide.
Thank u.

[Cece]

This confirms the belief that many people with MS have had that a significant head injury can predispose to MS.

I think there is something to this, but wanted to point out the other possibility: that having undiagnosed MS can contribute to significant head injury.
My MS went undiagnosed for years.

[civickiller]

is it brain or skeletal trauma?

[jason74]

when I was a toddler, my older brother ran me into a stoby pole and bashed my head. when I was about 10 fell off a chair onto a concrete floor on my head. when 16 I rolled my first car and got severe injuries to my neck. broke the benchseat clean in half with my back and landed on my head on the roof. that about sums me up

[Alabama]

I had a stroke four years prior to my MS diagnosis, this stoke damaged my lower cerebellum, to the point of effecting my balance greatly. This is an interesting subject!