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Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Study: Older Siblings at No Higher MS Risk

TUESDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Refuting an earlier theory, new research finds that older siblings do not run a higher risk of contracting multiple sclerosis than their younger brothers and sisters.

The study, published in the online edition of The Lancet Neurology, runs counter to prior findings that children from small families or with early birth-order positions are at higher risk of multiple sclerosis.

Those earlier findings had been explained by the "hygiene hypothesis," which holds that younger children gain more immunity because they are exposed to more infections by their older siblings.

However, until now studies that looked at the link between birth order and multiple sclerosis have been small, making them less reliable.

The current research, conducted by scientists at the University of British Columbia in Canada, and Oxford University in the U.K., involved data on more than 10,900 people with multiple sclerosis and more than 26,300 healthy siblings.

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more about multiple sclerosis.



-- Dennis Thompson



SOURCE: The Lancet, news release, Aug. 21, 2005

Last Updated: Aug-23-2005
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