MS Now Striking Women Much More Often Than Men

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"This rapid change suggests that it's not just the disease behaving as usual," Cutter said. "It is unfortunate, but it is an opportunity and we can use this information to learn what directions we ought to pursue."

"This is an interesting phenomenon, and I'm not sure anyone knows why it's happening,' said Nicholas LaRocca, associate vice president of Health Care Delivery and Policy Research for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

He said the real question is, "Are more people being diagnosed with the disease or are more people actually developing the disease? In all probability, probably both things are operating."

"It's always possible that in the past there may have been a tendency not to diagnose MS because clinicians couldn't offer a treatment," said LaRocca. "It could also be something biological that is increasing the number of people getting MS. Nobody knows if there is such a factor at work."

"This type of observational study -- while interesting and provocative -- probably raises more questions than it answers," LaRocca noted.

More information

To learn more about multiple sclerosis, visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.