Risk genes for multiple sclerosis uncovered Published Sunday,
July 29, 2007 11:31PM EDT Researchers have uncovered new genetic
variations that appear to put one at increased risk for multiple
sclerosis, in a discovery that's being called the first real
progress on the genetics of MS in 30 years. The finding is the
result of a huge, international research collaboration that
sought the genetic basis of MS, an autoimmune disease of the
central nervous system in which the body attacks and destroys
the insulation along nerve fibres. It leads to symptoms ranging
from mild muscle weakness to paralysis. It's long been suspected
that MS arises from a combination of genetic and environmental
factors. But the genetic source has remained mostly a mystery.
Unlike diseases caused by a mutation in a single gene, MS
appears to be among a list of complicated diseases in which a
host of genetic variations contributes to a person's
susceptibility, with each gene contributing only a small amount
of risk. The only genetic link pr