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Further evidence of a possible association between house dogs and multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Cook Stuart D.,
Natelson Benjamin H.,
Levin Barry E.,
Chavis Pamela S.,
Dowling Peter C.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410030209
Subject(s) - multiple sclerosis , medicine , association (psychology) , pediatrics , psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist
The present study was undertaken because of the recent report of an association between familial multiple sclerosis (MS) and prior ownership of a small pet. Forty‐five patients with sporadic MS were retrospectively compared with 45 closely matched controls and were found to have owned a significantly greater number of indoor dogs prior to the onset of MS. Importantly, the MS patients had also had more exposure to neurologically ill dogs in the five years before the onset of symptoms. These new data further support the hypothesis that house dogs may serve as an animal vector in MS.