Olav Axelson (a), Anne-Marie Landtblom
(b), Ulf Flodin (a)
(a) Division of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, Department of Health and Environment
(b) Neurology, Department of Neuroscience
and Locomotion, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
Neuroepidemiology 20:3:2001, 175-178.
Abstract
The etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) may involve exposure to infectious, chemical or physical agents damaging the blood-brain barrier and an autoimmune reaction against myelin breakdown products.
Here we report a pooled analysis of 174 MS cases and 815 population controls from two case-control studies with regard to such a potentially damaging exposure, namely X-ray examinations, radiological work and treatment with ionizing radiation.
Exposure was assessed by questionnaires to the subjects.
We obtained odds ratios of 4.4 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.6-11.6) and 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.6) for radiological work and X-ray examinations, respectively; 5 cases, but no controls, in one of the studies had been treated with ionizing radiation.
Our data and some other observations
reported in the literature suggest a contributory role for ionizing radiation
to the development of MS in some cases.
Copyright © 2001 S. Karger AG,
Basel