It is possible that labor slows the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), says a group of Belgian and Dutch scientists.

For 18 years, the researchers observed 330 women with multiple sclerosis and found that in those women who had children, the progression of the disease took significantly longer. The results of the research work were published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic progressive disease of the nervous system. Although in colloquial speech, "sclerosis" is often called memory impairment in old age, the name "multiple sclerosis" has nothing to do with senile "sclerosis," or lack of attention. The disease got its name because of its distinctive pathologoanatomical features: the presence of sclerosis scars scattered throughout the central nervous system without definite localization - replacement of normal nerve tissue by connective tissue. Among women, multiple sclerosis occurs twice as often as among men, scientists explained.

Experts believe that it is necessary to carry out a number of studies in this area, since previous work has shown an increased risk of multiple sclerosis after delivery. Additional studies will be able to clarify such contradictory results, experts say.

Medicinform. Net.