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← Return to PMR Flair up From a Virus?
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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Nov 22 6:54am | Replies (60)
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It has been recently released that they think that Crohn's is caused by a certain genetic set up and a case of a common GI virus. (I think it was Norwalk but not sure.) It would set the body up to attack its own tissues. Seems very likely that PMR would be similar. But somehow I think the "reactivity" of owm immune system would be a factor. One of the most important -and complicated-thing the immune system does is tell self from non-self. Pretty amazing, I think.
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Yes, I read that PMR has the highest rate in Norway and other parts of Scandinavia so that points to a genetic susceptibility. I then did a DNA test with ancestry.com and found that I have Norwegian, Danish and Swedish DNA. Not the majority but they also do a chromosome painter that shows where each origin sits. I can’t yet decipher the chromosome map but given I have 17% of my DNA from Scandinavia and the fact my mother had PMR too, makes me think that all I needed was a trigger. I still don’t know if it was vaccinations - I had the Zoster, COVID booster and flu - in the previous two weeks. I rarely get sick so I have a strong immune system already and the vaccines could have tipped me over the top. When I was a child my mother got tuberculosis and each year they did a Mantoux test on me. The idea was to get a positive reaction. After three years I didn’t and they said it was likely I would never get TB yet my father and brother Had positive responses. I react quite alarmingly to bites from insects. Sorry for the rave but I’m trying to understand immune responses - environmental and genetic. I hope my daughter doesn’t get this as she has inherited the 5% Norwegian but none of the other DNA, which came from my fathers side. FYI photo of part of the story