LEWISTOWN, Ill. Researchers say a study analyzing five possible multiple sclerosis "clusters" in Illinois shows three towns with more cases than expected.
The study was done by the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Spokeswoman Barb Sjostrom (SHOH'-strum) says Lewistown in central Illinois, Paw Paw in northern Illinois and Morrison in northwestern Illinois had elevated numbers.
She says Savanna and Depue in northern Illinois didn't have elevated numbers.
Sjostrom says researchers didn't find an environmental link. Residents had reported what they believed to be more cases of M-S than normal.
She says the disease was more prevalent among people with northern European ancestry and women.
The agency for toxic substances and disease registry funded the study. It's scheduled to be presented tomorrow morning in Lewistown.
(Thanks Donald H. Johnson, WIUM-FM, Macomb)
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