MS Gene Connection

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Report Highlights MS Gene Connection(Belfast Telegraph)Oct 2nd 2004SUSCEPTIBILITY to multiple sclerosis and the way inwhich the disease progressively handicaps the centralnervous system is genetically determined, scientistssuggested today. The finding could help shed light on a clear-cut causebehind the debilitating condition, which is the mostcommon acquired disease of the nervous system in youngadults. Researchers writing in the Journal of NeurologyNeurosurgery and Psychiatry looked at 262 pairs ofsiblings with MS to explore any underlying geneticmechanisms in the disease's development. They found a "significant" 50% of sibling pairs had an"identical" progression of the disease. There was also a significant similarity in the extentand severity of the disease, in terms of eventualhandicap and disability. The causes of MS remain unknown but scientistsunderstand it to be an autoimmune disorder in whichthe body's defence system destroys itself. The authors, including Professor Alastair Compston, ofAddenbrooke's Hospital at the University of Cambridge,conclude that genes influence not only susceptibilityto MS, but also the processes underlying itsprogression. They write: "Within a sibship and ... onceestablished, concordance is more likely to be seen forthe ultimate course, culminating in similar disabilityand handicap scores. "As the disease process becomes established, measuresof disease outcome are more likely than not toequilibriate within a sibship."Experts have long speculated that there may be agenetic link since relatives of affected people areeight times more likely than others to contract the disease.=====Jayne10@...