Tracing The Origins of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

I am so grateful for these people who do this grinding work. 

Their research is better than Arthur Conan Doyle's books. These are real life Sherlock Holmes who do work on problems which matter.  And it is not easy work nor they get proper recognition. 

I salute you. 

Here's a beautiful findings about origins of MS  and other brain related "disorders" which we have no clue how to treat leave alone cure: 

There are about twice as many cases of multiple sclerosis per 100,000 people in north-western Europe, including the UK and Scandinavia, compared with southern Europe.

Researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Copenhagen and Oxford spent more than 10 years delving into archaeology to investigate why.

MS is a disease where the body's own immune cells attack the brain and spinal cord, leading to symptoms like muscle stiffness and problems walking and talking.

They discovered that genes which increase the risk of MS entered into north-western Europe about 5,000 years ago via a massive migration of cattle herders called Yamnaya.

The Yamnaya came from western Russia, Ukraine and Kazhakstan, and moved west into Europe, says one of four Nature journal papers published on the topic.

The findings "astounded us all", said Dr William Barrie, paper author and expert in computational analysis of ancient DNA at University of Cambridge.

At the time, the gene variants carried by the herding people were an advantage, helping to protect them against diseases in their sheep and cattle.

Nowadays, however, with modern lifestyles, diets and better hygiene, these gene variants have taken on a different role.

In the present day, these same traits mean a higher risk of developing certain diseases, such as MS.

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Another Nature paper uncovered even more clues about our genetic past - that the Yamnaya herders could also be responsible for north-western Europeans being taller than southern Europeans.

And while northern Europeans carry more genetic risk for MS, southern Europeans are more likely to develop bipolar disorder, and eastern Europeans more likely to have Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.

DNA from pre-historic hunter-gatherer people raises the risk of Alzheimer's, but ancient farmers' genes are linked to mood disorders, the research explains.

To state the obvious for the millionth time; sharing your data is so crucial for making progress. This morning in the cold, I stood with Neo talking to my neighbor's wife. I have known him for 20 years and he has Parkinson's for a few years now. 

Listening to her talk was heartbreaking. 

Why is this suffering? Yes, its limitations of human knowledge and most importantly, lack of awareness of that limitation. This is worse than Dunning Kruger effect. 

Stop talking about nationalism, how you love humanity and other bullshit. 

Show that you care in action; register for Michael J Fox foundation's  Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative - PPMI.