Minor Trauma Precipitates MS: WTF?

[choosybeggar]

Tonight on the News Hour (formerly of McNeil and Lehrer fame) they did a piece on healthcare for the disabled. The story began with this lady suffering from multiple sclerosis.

They stated that her life was way cool until about two years prior to the interview. She had been involved in a minor car accident and was not injured. However, they stated, the minor trauma set her up to develop MS.

Is there any evidence to support this notion? That minor trauma can precipitate MS in an asymptomatic individual, perhaps someone with an underlying predisposition?

[Alphagene]

MS is a tricky thing. Its ultimate cause is still not known. MS is an autoimmune disease. Something causes the immune system to attack normal "self" cells. Specifially, the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths of nerve cells.

The prime candidate for the cause of MS is currently a virus. HHV-6 which is a type of herpes virus. One theory is that HHV-6 and myelin sheath have a similar antigen, so an immune reaction towards the virus leads to a reaction towards the myelin.

I'd be surprised if anyone could directly relate a car accident with MS, considering the cause of MS is still unknown. But not knowing the full details makes it hard to figure out.