New risk genes for multiple sclerosis discovered

Progress in explaining multiple sclerosis

11.08.2011

New genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS) discovered. Scientists were able to prove in a comprehensive international study several genetic variations that favor the occurrence of nervous disease. The in the current issue of the journal „Nature“ Published study results confirm, according to the researchers, the classification of MS as an autoimmune reaction.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford has compared the genetic makeup of approximately 9,700 MS patients with 17,400 control healthy subjects and identified 29 new genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis in a large-scale study. Much of the identified genes are related to immunity, leading researchers to believe that MS is caused by an autoimmune reaction in which the immune system turns against itself.

Discovered 29 new genetic MS risk factors
As part of the current study, the researchers have analyzed the data of more than 27,000 subjects from 15 countries and closely examined their genetic material. The scientists were able to identify 29 new genetic variations that play a significant role in the development of MS. Overall, more than 50 genetic risk factors for MS are now known, report Alistair Compston of the University of Cambridge and colleagues. According to the expert, 80 percent of the genes involved in MS have an immunological background, suggesting the conclusion, „that it is an immune disease“. According to Alistair Compston „this confirmation is of great importance“. Professor Bernhard Hemmer from the Competence Network Multiple Sclerosis also said that the study supported the thesis, „that multiple sclerosis is based on an autoimmune reaction“.

Multiple sclerosis as an autoimmune reaction of the organism
According to the scientists, the chronic inflammatory nerve disease multiple sclerosis, which spurts into action, is triggered by the body's own immune cells, which damage the protective myelin sheaths around the nerves in the spinal cord and brain. Current study results have confirmed this point of view, since much of the newly discovered genetic risk factors are related to the immune system, Compston and colleagues write. It has long been known that hereditary predisposition plays an essential role in MS. However, the links between the genetic risk factors and the MS symptoms such as paralysis, numbness, dizziness or visual disturbances have remained unclear. The suspicion of an autoimmune reaction, however, gave rise to the increased use of therapeutic measures to influence the immune system. According to Professor Hemmer, the classification of MS as an immune disease, confirmed by the newly discovered risk genes, confirms that this „therapeutic approaches must be strengthened,“ to get the autoimmune reaction under control.

On the trail of the causes of MS
According to the experts, as well as the genetic risk factors, infections such as, for example, human herpesviruses or bacterial pathogens can also cause the occurrence of multiple sclerosis. Overall, according to the health authorities, MS is among the most common chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system in Europe, with men being significantly less affected than women. Experts estimate that up to 138,000 MS patients currently live in Germany, and around two and a half million people worldwide are affected. Since the causes of the disease have not been fully resolved to this day, numerous initiatives around the world are intensively devoted to MS research. So the current study was for example from „International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium“ and the „Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium“ initiated. (Fp)

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Image: Dieter Schütz