Obesity and higher MS risk for women link reason may have been explained

Obesity has been linked to molecular patterns associated with increased inflammation and multiple sclerosis (MS) pathways, particularly in women. This connection may help explain why women who are obese are at a higher risk of developing MS.

A recent study examined data from both obese and non-obese women and men, as well as from a mouse model of MS. The results showed that obesity was associated with more severe disease and immune system activation in female subjects.

Dr Bob Axtell, from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and a senior author of the study, noted, “We’re not entirely sure why inflammation affects one gender more than the other, but it appears to predispose these women not only to MS but also to other autoimmune diseases.”