At the time, these variations probably protected people from infectious diseases. But they may now explain why rates of MS are higher today in people born in northwestern Europe.

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The research is part of a wider collaboration between scientists from around the world, including the UK, US and Denmark. Over the past five years, the team collected and analyzed DNA remains from nearly 5,000 ancient people living in Europe and Asia to create the largest ancient human gene bank ever assembled. These samples, collected from teeth and bones, cover the period from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) to the Middle Ages, with the oldest dating back 34,000 years.

One of the main results of this study is Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that destroys the myelin sheath, the protective layer that covers our nerves.. People with multiple sclerosis experience many neurological symptoms, including numbness, muscle weakness, pain, and difficulty walking. Most often, these symptoms first appear and disappear, but many patients experience a progressive worsening of their condition and a decrease in quality of life over time.

In recent years it has become clear that the Epstein-Barr virus is likely the main cause of multiple sclerosis. And although almost everyone in the world will be exposed to the virus at some point in their life, only a small percentage will develop multiple sclerosis. Obviously, there are other factors that can make a person more susceptible to it, including our genetics. The scientists behind this new study say that by comparing ancient DNA with the genes of people living today, they discovered how some of these genes linked to multiple sclerosis arose and later spread around the world.

A research team found: The variants first appeared among people living in the Pontic Steppe, which covers parts of modern-day Romania, Ukraine and Russia.. About 5,000 years ago these genes began to spread into northwestern Europe through the migration of the Pit Culture. The Yamna were primarily herders, and researchers believe these variants likely provided some protection against microbes they picked up from their animals. This strategy of the body was beneficial at the time and outweighed the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. The fact is that it usually manifests itself between the ages of 20 and 40, and then people often lived even less, so the person was protected from microorganisms, but did not have time to get MS. Today, the fact that some Homo sapiens live to be 100 years old or more, the average life expectancy has already exceeded 60 years, and the fact that we have a considerable amount of knowledge about hygiene, this situation turns against us.

The authors of the study state that the genetic heritage of people with pit culture has been preserved to this day. For example, many people living in northwestern Europe can trace their ancestors back to these ancient people, and the region where they originally lived is known for a relatively high prevalence of multiple sclerosis.