E-Mail CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Childhood trauma could affect the trajectory of multiple sclerosis development and response to treatment in adulthood, a new study in mice found. Mice that had experienced stress when young were more likely to develop the autoimmune disorder and less likely to respond to a common treatment, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found. However, treatment that activated an immune-cell receptor mitigated the effects of childhood stress in the mice. Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease in which the body attacks and strips away the protective coating around neurons, resulting in a wide range of neurological symptoms. Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in MS development.