Each of the new associations brings nearer an understanding of how multiple sclerosis develops and thereby closer to our ultimate goal of a rational therapy that is both safe and effective at all stages of the disease.
-Professor Stephen Sawcer
This work, for which the University of Cambridge led the UK’s contribution, nearly doubles the number of known genetic risk factors and thereby provides additional key insights into the biology of this debilitating neurological condition.
The genes implicated by the newly identified associations underline the central role played by the immune system in the development of multiple sclerosis and show substantial overlap with genes known to be involved in other autoimmune diseases.
The study, published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics, is the largest investigation of multiple sclerosis genetics to date.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disabling neurological condition that affects over 2.5 million individuals worldwide. The disease results in patchy inflammation and damage to the central nervous system that causes problems with mobility, balance, sensation and cognition depending on the location of the changes. Neurological symptoms are often intermittent in the early stages of the disease but tend to become persistent and progressively worsen with the passage of time for the majority of patients.
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Image credit: Johnny Settle
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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