An international team of scientists has uncovered, in the DNA of ancient teeth and bones, that the same genes that cause multiple sclerosis may have protected our ancestors from catching infections from animals.
Multiple sclerosis is more prevalent in north-western Europe, including the UK and Scandinavia, compared with southern Europe.
Using the largest genetic database of ancient humans, scientists from the Universities of Cambridge, Copenhagen and Oxford have determined that the genes which increase the risk of multiple sclerosis entered into north-western Europe about 5000 years ago.