Hello All: I know this is probably going to sound stupid but here goes anyway. I have noticed that most of the members of the AMN community were born in cold months, not all but most. Has anyone figured out if their "genetic gift giver" or parent was ill during conception or pregnancy? Is this a factor in the development of the disease in some patients? I would be interested in finding out wether the people born in cold months have cerebral involvement as well, i.e. lesions in the brain. The cold weather hear in Canada has left my husband, daughter and mother-in-law almost paralized during the winter. We moved away from Northern Alberta and the minus 40 degree celcius weather to the warmer climate of Southern Ontario Canada and it has had some positive effects on the amount of pain being experienced. All three of them were born in the colder months of the year. We are very concerned for the newest member of our family who was also born in the cold climate of Alberta in the winter. Okay....there, I said it. Does anyone else have anything, and I do mean ANYTHING to add on temperature, winter babies and AMN, or my lack of reasonable thought? Staying out of the cold, Donna

Hello Donna, It is interesting to hear that you were in Alberta, because I am 45 minutes southeast of Edmonton. My Mother, who the illness started with in our family, was born in July and I was born on her birthday. Fortunately we haven't experienced any, noticeable, cerebral involvement in the family. So there may be something to the idea of the having been born in colder months contributing to the course of the disease??? I have noticed that it is more difficult to deal with the cold weather, but I attribute that to having more trouble moving and the shortness of the days and trouble sleeping. Any thought on the ways to deal with this illness are intriguing and very valid! Thank you, Jeff

Hi. I'm worse in the winter but it's not the heat that makes me better, it's Vitamin D3 from the sun! the closer to the equator you go the Vitamin D you get due to the steeper angle from the sun. All the best Steve

Steve: Yeah, aware of the vit D deficiency of the disease, however that is a complication of the body unable to absorb the vitamin itself not the angle of the sun. We had 20 hours of direct sunlight for a long time and my family still has vit D deficiency. By the way my mother in-law and husband and daughter were all born and lived most of their lives at the lowest geographical point in Canada and still developed lesions in their brains.... but thanks for the input. Donna

Good morning. I was born early January in the carribean where it is never cold. It is an interesting point though.