“Women are more likely to get MS than men. People of all races and ethnicities can get MS, but it’s most common in White people.

Having a parent or sibling with MS increases the chances of a person getting MS, although MS itself isn’t an inherited disorder. Research suggests hundreds of genes and gene variants (also called mutations) combine to create vulnerability to MS.

Some of these genes have been identified, and most are related to functions of the immune system. Some of the known genes are like those that have been identified in people with other autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus.

Several viruses have been found in people with MS, but the virus most consistently linked to the development of MS is the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) which causes infectious mononucleosis.”

NIH – National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Multiple Sclerosis (MS) | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)