No abstract

From the existing literature a set of unrelated clinical characteristics emerged that was associated with a benign course of MS. However, there is a need for prospective studies to define more precisely clinical and paraclinical predictors of benign MS.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) might be triggered by an infectious agent early in life.In a case-control study, we compared exposure to household pets for the age periods 0-5, 6-10, 11-15 and 16-20 years in 100 patients with MS and 100 controls. Exposure to household dogs between the ages of 0-10 years was associated with an increased risk of MS [odds ratio 1.9 (9?+0/, CI 1.1-3.5)]; the association was strongest between the ages of 0-5 years [odds ratio 2.7 (1.4-5.0)]. Exposure to household dogs between the ages of 10-20 years was not significantly different between cases and controls. Risk of MS was not significantly associated with household exposure to cats, caged small birds or other pets. Our results suggest that exposure to household dogs in the first decade of l i f e i n particular the first 5 years of life--ls associated with an increase in the risk of MS.