MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS IN INDIA - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES

Objectives - To compare the rate of prior environmental exposures betw een Indian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and controls in order to i dentify potential disease triggering factors. Material and methods - A standard self-administered questionnaire regarding prior exposures wa s presented to 56 Indian MS patients and 147 other neural disease and healthy controls at two large medical centers in India. Results - The rate of prior foreign travel, surgeries, blood transfusions, clinical chicken pox and mumps infections and exposure to cats and farm animals was not significantly different between MS patients and controls. How ever, clinical measles infection and dog exposure occurred significant ly more often in the MS patients. Conclusion - These findings are cons istent with but do not prove an association between prior measles infe ction, dog exposure and MS.