A Ascherio

..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...

..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...

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

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

..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...

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

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..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...

..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...

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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...

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

..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...

..91, 95% CI: 0.80, 1.04). This preliminary finding suggests the possibility that the putative beneficial effect of vitamin D on MS risk maybe attenuated in individuals carrying the HLA-DR15 MS risk allele...

..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...

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

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

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

..To prospectively examine whether higher intakes of total flavonoids and their subclasses (flavanones, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavones, and polymers) were associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD)...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

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

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

..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...

..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...

..Late infection with other common viruses may also be associated with increased risk...

..We aimed to examine the bidirectional relationship in middle-aged and elderly women...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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)...

..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...

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

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

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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...

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

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

..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...

..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...

..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...

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

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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)...

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

..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...

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

..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...

..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...

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

..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...

..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...

..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...

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

..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...

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

..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 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...

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

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

..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...

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..Additionally, seafood-based, long-chain n-3 PUFAs may modify the effects of plant-based, intermediate-chain n-3 PUFAs. However, the interactions of these PUFAs in relation to CHD risk are not well established...

..Intake of vitamin B(6) or vitamin B(12) also was not related to the risk of Parkinson's disease. The current study does not support the hypothesis that higher intake of folate or related B vitamins lowers the risk of Parkinson's disease...

..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...

..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...

..Excessive iron stores may promote insulin resistance and lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. However, prospective data relating iron intake and blood donations (determinants of body iron stores) to diabetes incidence are limited...

..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. ..