Paint, varnish exposure may up sclerosis risk

London: Chemicals in paint and varnish may increase people's risk of developing the crippling nerve disorder multiple sclerosis ( MS), according to a study. The research, published in the journal Neurology, found that people with exposure to paint or other solvents are 50 per cent more likely to develop MS than those with no exposure. People with exposure to solvents who also carry the genes that make them more susceptible to MS are nearly seven times as likely to develop the disease as those with no solvent exposure who do not carry the MS genes, the researchers said. For people who have been smokers, the risk is even greater, they said. Those who have been smokers with solvent exposure and the MS genes are 30 times more likely to develop MS than those who have never smoked or been exposed to solvents and who do not have the genetic risk factors. “These are significant interactions where the factors have a much greater effect in combination than they do on their own,” said Anna Hedstrom from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. “More research is needed to understand how these factors interact to create this risk. It is possible that exposure to solvents and smoking may both involve lung inflammation and irritation that leads to an immune reaction in the lungs,” said Hedstrom. Researchers identified 2,042 people with MS in Sweden and matched them with 2,947 people. Blood tests were used to determine whether the participants had two human leukocyte antigen gene variants, one of which makes people likely to develop MS and the other reduces the risk of MS.