MS after vaccination case study

[tdcubano]

I would like for any sufferer that did get an inmunitation for any reason two years or less since they developed MS to leave me a message.  I am currently conducting a study of cause/consecuence since I have at least 5 personal friends and family members that this was the case.  Another was Guillan Barre Syndrome, a very similar condition to MS but the damage is to the nerve conductio outside the brain.  I know at least two close to me individuals this happened to.  Please help me.  Even if your's is not the case, I need also the ratio to establish a comparison.  Thank you everyone

[sllowe]

Hi there,

I'll participate.
Negative case here. No immunizations since grade school and dx'd in 07.

I'm not so sure a random internet sampling is worthy of your ratio/study, but good luck w/your experiment. And to your friend and family members.

Doc Quix's information sure is educational and I hope you find it most helpfu. You must really care alot to try to find some cause or connection. I've not checked the CDC for literature on this, but maybe there is something there you can dig and read into also.

thanks for joining us,  
Shell

[Quixotic1]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.  You have a slight misunderstanding of the relationship of immunizations to MS.  There is a known association but the role of the immunization is in "triggering" an already "set up" case of Multiple Sclerosis.

By this I mean that MS is known to occur in people with a genetic susceptibility and/or a known history of certain infections (most specifically Epstein Barr Virus and the illness called mononucleosis) and/or certain environmental factors like low Vitamin D in childhood and in the mother during gestation.

Now given all of those risk factors for MS we also know that often something else "triggers" the onset of the disease.  The disease was already all set up just waiting to appear.

What causes the MS to show its face the first time in many people is something that causes the immune system to jump into high gear.  This can be one of any number of things.  The really common ones are infections, especially viral, immunizations, and the first few months after delivery of a baby when the immune system, which was suppressed some during pregnancy ramps back up.  When that increase in immune activity occurs MS will often show up.  It may show up for the first time or it may show back up as a new relapse.

There have been many of studies looking to see if there was any evidence that immunizations actually cause MS.  In general the answer has been a solid "No".  They merely act as a trigger to unleash the disease that is already primed and ready to go.  That is well established.  However, in the case of relapses, the immunization causes less of a relapse than does the full-fledged disease - like in the case of the influenza vaccine.

In my readings of the medical literature I have only found one instance where immunizations showed a closer association.  In the 90's there were reports of an increase in MS among adolescents in France after they were given the Hepatitis B vaccine.  Initially the studies could not verify this association.  However, just in the last couple years a report has come out verifying that just one brand of Hep B vaccine was associated with a slight increase in MS.  The was the brand Energix-B.  This is the major brand used in the US, but the association was not as clear when studied here.  The brand is manufactured in various sites and it may have been due just to the vaccine manufactured in Europe.

Now, it is well-known that Guillain-Barre can be caused by vaccines, though far and away the most common cause is wild viral infections, both respiratory and gastrointestinal.  Also, a bacterial bowel infection called Camphylobacter jejeuni is also a known culprit.

It is tempting to compare GBS and MS, but there are many differences between the two and their causes are very different.  The two diseases cannot be lumped together for study.

I encourage others to answer TD's question, but also realize that this question has been rigorously studied and there is no connection, except in the case I mentioned.

Since there are several vaccines used in adolescents and adults it is not surprising that people's MS will show up within a few years of a vaccine.  Even though the mind wants to believe that this is the cause, the evidence points away from this as it does in autism.

I assure you that a close eye is kept on immunizations with regard to all of the autoimmune diseases.  So, your concern that one of the "causes" of MS is vaccines has shown no evidence.

I hope this helps.

Quix, MD (a physician with MS)

[Lulu54]

Hi and welcome  to the MS forum -your friends are lucky that you are interested in learning more about this MySterious disease.  As for the link between immunizations and MS, I believe this has been researched repeatedly and it has been found there is no connection.

I'm with you in wanting to find the cause of MS but don't believe that vaccines fit in the big picture.

FYI - I was dx'd with MS a good 40+ years after my last immunization shot.

be well,
Lulu