This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi,

I have read women are more likely to get MS.

Some men do get MS. But do they already have MS history in their family?

Dr. George Ebers, respected MS researcher . www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqY-_K1fYJY
has followed MS patients for over 40 years. He has stated that 50 years ago there was no difference between the genders in MS incidence. What happened 50 years ago which might have altered the ratio? Birth Control Pills (introduced 1960) which are known to impact the vascular system. (Dr Ebers is a Neurologist and doesn't suggest that MS is a vascular disorder. Dr Zamboni's CCSVI theory does suggest that and I am suggesting that the increased MS risk for women was triggered by female hormone therapy.)

Best regards,

Hi,

That is a very good video. Everyone should at least have a look at it. You will get the gist even if you miss the detail.

On the gender matter, I can't see how the data that concludes this skew towards females was established. No matter where I look I can't see the raw data. There are probably many studies that are predominately sampling females but that doesn't mean it represents the whole population set. If we were just sampling the people I have meet over the past 20 years who have developed MS it's 5 men to 2 women. That's not a good sample either. If the sample is based on survivors then it doesn't bode well for males.

All I see, from my own experience, is a high degree of indifference from medical people. When I was first diagnosed in the early 90's their approach was just "here's a steroid, see you when you have your next attack". Those people are supplying the data for the surveys.

I don't know how any conclusion such as gender based outcomes can be relied on when the data collection is just so shoddy. It feels like a mantra you just have to accept.

Regards,

RRMS is 2 to 3 times more common in women than in men.

On the other hand PPMS is an equal opportunity destroyer. It affects men just as often as women.