Multiple Sclerosis: increased risk if low Vit D, cigarette smoke, solvents, EB virus, obesity or low sun
Integrating Genetics and Environment to Find Causal Mechanisms for Multiple Sclerosis
Eur J Immunol. 2026 May;56(5):e70206. doi: 10.1002/eji.70206.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of risk loci for multiple sclerosis (MS), but we have limited knowledge of the mechanisms through which genetic variants mediate risk. Similarly, epidemiological studies implicate numerous environmental risk factors in MS risk, but these cannot identify specific causal mechanisms. We review our current knowledge of genetic mechanisms in MS, including the critical role of expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping in translating genetic risk loci into causal mechanisms. Molecular and functional context has emerged as an important missing component of these studies, and we discuss how environmental risk factors can be modelled in a quantitative genetic context to identify disease mechanisms. In parallel, we highlight recent advances in which quantitative genetic methods establish a causal role for low vitamin D and obesity in MS, and to dissect the mechanisms through which these operate. As genetic, transcriptional, and epigenetic studies continue to expand, further mechanistic insights for MS are likely to come from the integration of genetic and environmental data.
Related in VitaminDWiki
- More Vitamin D needed: Obese, Diabetic, MS, CF, Smoker, etc.
- Treating Autoimmune Disease with the Coimbra Protocol - video Dec 2025 - which uses Vitamin D etc.
- Vitamin D genes associated with Multiple Sclerosis
- Multiple Sclerosis 30 X more likely if: organic solvent AND poor genes AND smoking
- Multiple Sclerosis 40% more likely in obese than in overweight (Mendelian randomization)
Sun, Smoking, Darker Skin
- Avoiding the Sun is Just as Dangerous as Cigarettes - video
- Multiple Sclerosis 42X more likely if light brown skin and smoke (both associated with low vitamin D)
- African-Americans and Multiple Sclerosis
Epstein Bar Virus