New MS genes found – a ‘landmark’ discovery
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incurable disease of the nervous system affecting hundreds of thousands of people across the world. People with MS often worry about what caused it, and particularly whether it will affect their children, so a better understanding of the role of certain genes is good news. Here is a summary of the latest published research on identifying the genetic faults that may lead to developing MS. It is only the beginning of the journey but new technology should speed up the identification of the other genetic variations.
Penny
The first new genes for three decades linked to multiple sclerosis have been identified by UK and US researchers.
The finding, published in both the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Genetics, will not lead directly to new tests or treatments, as experts say as many as 100 more genes may play a role in MS.
The joint project between Cambridge University and Harvard and other US academic collaborators used the latest genome-scanning technology to look at the genetic make-up of thousands of MS patients, looking for signs of tiny genetic differences which might mean a greater risk of developing the illness.
It concluded that people carrying either of two genetic variants, called IL7R-alpha and IL2R-alpha, had an increased risk of between 20% and 30%. Both of the genes identified by the research are known to have a role in the body’s immune responses.
Dr Stephen Sawcer, from Cambridge University, said that even though this only represented a tiny increase in risk, it was a “landmark” discovery. A test for this gene alone would reveal nothing about a person’s chances of developing MS later in life, he said, as only one in 10 people in the UK did not carry it.
