TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Genetic and environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS) are associated with brain volume in childhood, according to a study published online Dec. 10 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
Casper Louk de Mol, from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues examined whether genetic and childhood environmental risk factors for MS have an impact on neurodevelopment before the typical age of onset for MS. In a large, population-based childhood cohort without MS diagnoses, associations and interactions of genetic and environmental risk factors for MS were examined with brain magnetic resonance imaging outcomes, including volumetric and diffusion data at ages 9 and 13 years. Genetic burden was assessed using polygenic risk scores (PRS), and environmental factors were examined at age 5 years.
Genetic data were available for 2,817 and 2,970 participants with volumetric and diffusion data, respectively. The researchers found a positive association for the MS-PRS with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen titers among EBV-positive children (β = 0.15). MS-PRS was negatively associated with subcortical gray matter volume (β = −0.03). There was a negative link for the interaction between the MS-PRS and household parental smoking with total brain volume (β = −0.21) and thalamic volume (β = −0.22); lower volumes were seen in association with higher MS-PRS and household smoking.
“How this increased vulnerability influences other MS risk factors may open a window for prevention of MS by limiting childhood exposure to household smoking or other toxic exposures associated with MS (i.e., household chemicals), and should be a focus for further studies,” the authors write.
Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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