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Although its etiology is still poorly understood, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease that results from the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Whether physical trauma could play a role in the etiology of this disease has been debated. Some scientists argue that physical trauma involving the spinal cord and/or the brain could cause disruption of the blood-brain barrier, causing development of MS plaques in individuals genetically at risk.
To examine whether concussion in childhood or adolescence is associated with risk for MS, researchers identified approximately 7300 patients with MS using Swedish national registers of prospectively recorded MS diagnoses between 1964 and 2012. Each patient with MS was matc…