A Ascherio

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..Other proposed risk factors for MS are mentioned only briefly; although we recognize that some of these might be genuine, evidence is usually sparse and unpersuasive...

..The primary purpose of these reviews is to identify clues to the causes of MS and to evaluate the possibility of primary prevention...

..The biological mechanism by which EBV may cause MS is not known, but several possibilities are discussed...

..75, 2.30; p = 0.34) among users. These results suggest that caffeine reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease but that this hypothetical beneficial effect may be prevented by use of estrogen replacement therapy...

..In this article, we review the epidemiological data, critically discuss the evidence for causality of these associations, and briefly discuss the possibility of interventions to reduce MS risk...

..Chronic, low-dose exposure to pesticides is suspected to increase the risk for Parkinson's disease (PD), but data are inconclusive...

..However, while infection with EBV is consistent with many observations of MS epidemiology, there are some that remain unexplained, suggesting that other factors are also involved in determining risk...

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..004). In contrast, no significant associations were found for use of vitamin C or multivitamins. These results suggest that vitamin E supplementation could have a role in ALS prevention...

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..Antioxidant nutrients may reduce the risk of MS. In a recent case-control study, vitamin C intake was significantly inversely associated with MS risk among women. However, no prospective data are available...

..Our results indicate that although smoking was unrelated to prostate cancer incidence, recent tobacco use had a substantial impact on the occurrence of fatal prostate cancer...

..Few studies have evaluated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cardiovascular disease...

..The healthy eating index (HEI) measures the concordance of dietary patterns with these guidelines...

..Because an elevated risk among multivitamin users was not observed consistently in the two cohorts and the pooled data were not significant, the elevated risk among women may be the result of chance...

..Metabolic studies suggest that saturated fatty acids differ in their effects on blood lipids...

..Epidemiological studies suggest an association between infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and risk of multiple sclerosis (MS)...

..This lack of association is consistent with the interpretation that the lower urate levels among multiple sclerosis cases are a consequence rather than a cause of the disease...

..Intake of carbohydrates that provide a large glycemic response has been hypothesized to increase the risk of NIDDM, whereas dietary fiber is suspected to reduce incidence. These hypotheses have not been evaluated prospectively...

..Reduction in egg consumption has been widely recommended to lower blood cholesterol levels and prevent coronary heart disease (CHD). Epidemiologic studies on egg consumption and risk of CHD are sparse...

..In experimental animals, iron overload appears to promote atherosclerosis and ischemic myocardial damage, but the results of epidemiological studies that relate iron stores to risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been inconsistent...

..However, the effects of intakes of these vitamins on risk of stroke are still uncertain. This study examines intakes of folate, vitamin B6, and B12 in relation to risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke...

..These results support a possible protective effect of moderate doses of caffeine on risk of Parkinson's disease...

..To examine the interplay between smoking, serum antibody titers to the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigens (anti-EBNA), and HLA-DR15 on multiple sclerosis (MS) risk...

..Antioxidants increase the resistance of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation and may thereby reduce risk for atherosclerosis...

..However, the authors observed a nonsignificantly lower risk of MS for a higher intake of linolenic acid. These findings do not support relations between intakes of total fat or major specific types of fat and the risk of MS...

..A protective effect of vitamin D on risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been proposed, but no prospective studies have addressed this hypothesis...

..14; CI: 0.84-1.56). These data suggest that as currently used in Costa Rica, and most likely in many other developing countries, the replacement of palm oil with a polyunsaturated nonhydrogenated vegetable oil would reduce the risk of MI...

..Persuasive evidence has demonstrated that increased physical activity is associated with substantial reduction in risk of coronary heart disease. However, the role of physical activity in the prevention of stroke is less well established...

..Because this sex difference could be due to hormonal effects, the authors examined prospectively the risk of PD according to use of postmenopausal hormones and caffeine intake among participants in the Nurses' Health Study...

..Individuals with high levels of antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) have an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), but this association could be confounded by genetic susceptibility...

..No prior studies of pesticide exposure and PD used biomarkers of exposure collected before the onset of PD. Our investigation examined the association between prospective serum biomarkers of organochlorine pesticides and PD...

..These prospective findings confirm that an inverse association between smoking and the incidence of Parkinson's disease exists in both men and women...

..This study assessed the association between exposure to chemicals and risk of ALS in a prospective cohort study...

..Elevated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody titers are risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS), but the strength and consistency of this association are not well characterized...

..It remains uncertain whether the presence of serum anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies in healthy individuals contributes to predict their risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS)...

..To investigate whether greater physical activity is associated with a lower risk of Parkinson disease (PD)...

..Reports of multiple sclerosis developing after hepatitis B vaccination have led to the concern that this vaccine might be a cause of multiple sclerosis in previously healthy subjects...

..Animal experiments and epidemiological studies have suggested that high potassium intake may reduce the risk of stroke, but the evidence is inconclusive, and the role of other nutrients in potassium-rich foods remains unknown...

..The present study assessed the association between history of allergy and autoimmune diseases, and the risk of MS...

..CONCLUSIONS: Military personnel have an increased risk of ALS. This increase appeared to be largely independent of the branch of service and the time period served...

..PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Dietary evaluation and recommendations can be incorporated into dental visits to provide a greater benefit to patients...

..Although it has been hypothesized that the diabetes-depression relation is bidirectional, few studies have addressed this hypothesis in a prospective setting...

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..Antibodies to BZLF1, the product of the homonymous early lytic gene, have been found to be related to risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but have not been previously measured in MS studies...

..If this was due to common genetic mechanisms, a positive family history of melanoma would be associated with an excessive PD risk, independent of environmental risk factors for PD...

..3/K18.3 vs K18.2/K18.2 = 2.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-6.4).ConclusionVariation in EBV-associated superantigen HERV-K18 Env could influence the genetic susceptibility to MS...

..76 (95% CI: 0.48-1.21) for tetanus (SD=4.71) and 1.03 (0.73-1.45) for diphtheria (SD=0.87). Results of this study suggest serum IgG antibodies against tetanus or diphtheria are not predictors of MS risk...

..CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, appears to have a protective effect against coronary heart disease...

..Oxidative damage has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Limited and mostly retrospective epidemiologic data suggest a reduction or no change in risk of PD associated with high vitamin E intake...

..Impaired antioxidant defenses are implicated in neurodegenerative disease. The plasma levels of urate, a water-soluble antioxidant, are reduced in Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

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..CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that long-term coffee consumption is associated with a statistically significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes...

..1 (95% CI 4.7 to 17.7) and 8.1 (95% CI 4.3 to 15.3), respectively. It is estimated that smoking may cause 53% (95% CI 47% to 64%) of MIs among urban males in India...

..However, due to the heterogeneity of results between cohorts, we cannot exclude the possibility that infection with Cpn may modify the risk of MS...

..Similar results were obtained after adjustment for other potential confounding factors. Although these prospective results do not prove a cause-and-effect relation, they suggest that smoking is associated with an increased risk of MS...

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..01 and 0.05 for trend, respectively). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that gamma-tocopherol does not protect against nonfatal MI...

..CONCLUSION: The usefulness of adipose tissue and plasma carotenoids as biomarkers of intake is similar, although correlations for individual carotenoids vary substantially...

..To determine whether concentration of serum urate, a purine metabolite and potent antioxidant that has been linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson disease (PD), predicts prognosis in PD...

..The weak associations between alpha-tocopherol intake and plasma or adipose tissue concentrations suggest that these biomarkers are influenced more by factors other than alpha-tocopherol intake...

..Experimental and clinical data suggest a protective effect of estrogens on the development and progression of MS...

..04). Results, which suggest that male programmers and laboratory technicians and female machine assemblers may be at increased risk of death from ALS, should be interpreted cautiously, however, because they are based on small numbers...

..Left-handedness was associated with a 62% increased risk of PD in women but not in men. Further investigation of the relation between prenatal, perinatal, or neonatal factors and PD in other study populations is suggested...

..Although cigarette smokers are at increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), the effect of smoking on the progression of MS remains uncertain...

..However, data on the association between alcohol consumption and CVD among individuals with hypertension are scarce...

..Exogenous estrogens affect the onset and clinical course of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Oral contraceptives, a frequent source of exogenous estrogens in humans, could have a role in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS)...

..0003). This large prospective study provides limited evidence that current cigarette smoking may be associated with increased death rates from ALS in women but not in men...

..Recently, the analysis of dietary patterns has emerged as a possible approach to examining diet-disease relations...

..Left-handedness has been studied as a marker for in-utero exposure to sex steroid hormones, and an increased risk of autoimmune and immune disorders among left-handed individuals has been suggested...

..Further research should assess whether in utero exposure to bisphenol A has similar adverse effects...

..Our results suggest that higher intake of dairy products may increase the risk of PD in men; however, this finding needs further evaluation, and the underlying active components need to be identified...

..The effect of fish consumption or long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake on risk of stroke remains uncertain...

..28; P = 0.0002) is comparable to the opposite trend observed for lung cancer, and supports an overall 74% reduction in risk of PD among smokers. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that smoking reduces the risk of PD...

..We examined associations between vitamin C intake and serum uric acid in men in a population-based study...

..Familial aggregation of PD is strong and unlikely to be due to chance or to deficiencies in study methodology...

..These potential benefits, however, should be weighed against expected adverse effects on risk of gout and other chronic diseases...

..Several dietary factors have been associated with risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in case-control studies, but no prospective studies have investigated diet and ALS...

..Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) in general, and possibly ibuprofen in particular, has been shown to be related to lower PD risk in previous epidemiologic studies...

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..Cigarette smoking has been proposed as a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but epidemiological studies supporting this hypothesis have been small and mostly retrospective...

..6). Unexpectedly, the risk of PD was higher among men who reported recent multiple blood donations (P for trend = 0.05). The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that reduced systemic iron stores lower the risk of PD...

..The finding of a marginally significant gene-environment interaction requires replication in larger datasets, but suggests future genetic studies may benefit from considering relevant environmental context...

..We investigated the usefulness of an aggregate measure of risk of MS that is based on genetic susceptibility loci. We also assessed the added effect of environmental risk factors that are associated with susceptibility for MS...

..The use of postmenopausal hormone use may interact with other risk factors, but findings are preliminary and need confirmation in other populations...

..To examine whether obesity during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS)...

..Unlike in men, these findings do not support the hypothesis that urate is strongly associated with lower rates of Parkinson's disease among women...

..In conclusion, men with RLS are more likely to have concurrent PD. Prospective studies are warranted to clarify the temporal relationship between RLS and PD...

..We therefore examined whether individuals who are obese have an increased risk of RLS in two ongoing US cohorts, the Nurses' Health Study II and the Health Professional Follow-up Study...

..Alpha-linolenic acid may protect against cardiovascular disease. We examined the association between adipose tissue alpha-linolenic acid and nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (MI) in a population-based case-control study in Costa Rica...

..the highest quartile 0.33; 95% confidence interval: 0.12-0.90). Our results suggest that, contrary to telomere attrition observed in several aging-related diseases, shorter telomeres are not associated with an increased risk of PD...

..If the inverse association between smoking and Parkinson's disease were due to confounding by an environmental factor or were the result of reverse causation, it is unlikely that parental smoking would predict Parkinson's disease...

..70, 95% CI 0.48-1.02, P-value, test for trend = 0.06) and B-12 (RR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.54-1.11, P-value, test for trend = 0.12). These results suggest that higher consumption of folate may contribute to the prevention of PAD...

..Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a leading cause of death in India. Dietary changes could reduce risk, but few studies have addressed the association between diet and IHD risk in India...

..To examine the association between intake of total fat, specific types of fat, and cholesterol and risk of stroke in men. Design and setting Health professional follow up study with 14 year follow up...

..03) for waist-to-hip ratio. The results do not support a role of overall obesity in PD pathogenesis; however, central obesity may be associated with higher PD risk among never smokers, and this finding merits further investigation...

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..Fruit, vegetable and total fiber intakes were not associated with PAD risk. These results suggest an inverse association between cereal fiber intake and PAD risk in men. Increasing cereal fiber intake may prevent PAD...

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..Most important is the interdisciplinary approach of the proposed project, which includes collaboration with experts in EBV virology, immunology, and MS genetics. ..

..Finally, the long follow-up period will allow the investigation of long-term effects of exposure. ..

..Lastly, the proposed project will establish a unique resource that will be readily available for future studies on the etiology of PD. ..

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..Lastly, the proposed project will establish a unique resource that will be readily available for future studies on the etiology of PD. ..

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..Because blood levels of urate can be modified with existing drugs, the proposed project could lead to novel approaches to the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease. ..

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..In addition, we will ask whether nerve regeneration is altered by administration of these cytokines. This could have obvious health benefits to the millions of diabetics that suffer from nerve damage. ..

..By the end of the follow-up, we project a total of 461 confirmed cases of MS and 380 confirmed cases of PD. We will have sufficient poser to evaluate a series of specific hypotheses with substantial public health implications. ..

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..Identification of the risk factors for ALS will provide clues about the etiology of the disease and contribute to identify those hypotheses that need more intense scrutiny in clinical or laboratory investigations. ..

..On the other hand, the lack of such association would suggest that other hypotheses need to be addressed to explain the strong latitude gradient in MS incidence. ..

..Understanding the role of these environmental factors in early MS progression may lead to new prevention and therapeutic strategies. ..