Mandatory Rest Period

Big news in the world of MS it seems. I just saw this posting saying that they've discovered a genetic component to MS! My question always is, now what? Can they block that genetic "something" in me to stop the disease? What? Can they take that gene out of me and viola! I'm cured? Interesting thats its associated with diabetes. I have that in my family background. "Until now, investigations of the human genome have turned up only a cluster of variants of genes on Chromosome 6, in the so-called Major Histocompatibility Complex, which regulates the immune system. But these genes were identified in the mid-1970s, leaving frustrated doctors to hunt for other culprits in the complex cascade of processes involved in MS. The new suspects play a role in guiding key immune cells, called T cells, which patrol the body for intruders. They carry the name of interleukin-7 receptor alpha, or IL7R-alpha, located on Chromosome 5, and interleukin-2 receptor alpha (IL2R-alpha) on Chromosome 10, which has previously been associated with Type 1 diabetes. A single change in the genetic code in IL7-R, and two changes in IL2-R create the dangerous variants. Each variant appears to boost the risk of MS by between 20 and 30 per cent. "Our finding is very important, because the genetic factors that are already known to be associated with multiple sclerosis only explain less than half of the total genetic basis for the disease," said Simon Gregory, an Australian-born geneticist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who took part in the IL7-R work. The two studies, published simultaneously by Nature Genetics and the New England Journal of Medicine, were carried out by two consortiums of scientists, from the US and Cambridge University in Britain. The genetic variants were unearthed thanks to a comparison of more than 20,000 samples of DNA, provided by patients diagnosed with MS and those without the disease, living in the US and Europe. "People have been looking for genes involved in MS for 30 years," said David Hafler, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, a lead author on the IL2-R study."

**Update - here's another good link about this for those that are interested.

- posted by Anonymous @ 10:24 PM - Link @ 10:24 PM - Link to this post - Comments (0)

			Hi, I’m Kim! This site provides a little insight to my journey of being diagnosised with Remitting Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis on October 26th 2004. I review books and documentaries, post MS-related news, and share my photos. Subscribe (RSS) My bloglines Archives Current November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 September 2010 November 2011

	Sunday, July 29, 2007 *Genetic breakthrough for MS -Interleukin-7 receptor alpha, or IL7R-alpha* Big news in the world of MS it seems. I just saw this posting saying that they've discovered a genetic component to MS! My question always is, now what? Can they block that genetic "something" in me to stop the disease? What? Can they take that gene out of me and viola! I'm cured? Interesting thats its associated with diabetes. I have that in my family background. "Until now, investigations of the human genome have turned up only a cluster of variants of genes on Chromosome 6, in the so-called Major Histocompatibility Complex, which regulates the immune system. But these genes were identified in the mid-1970s, leaving frustrated doctors to hunt for other culprits in the complex cascade of processes involved in MS. The new suspects play a role in guiding key immune cells, called T cells, which patrol the body for intruders. They carry the name of interleukin-7 receptor alpha, or IL7R-alpha, located on Chromosome 5, and interleukin-2 receptor alpha (IL2R-alpha) on Chromosome 10, which has previously been associated with Type 1 diabetes. A single change in the genetic code in IL7-R, and two changes in IL2-R create the dangerous variants. Each variant appears to boost the risk of MS by between 20 and 30 per cent. "Our finding is very important, because the genetic factors that are already known to be associated with multiple sclerosis only explain less than half of the total genetic basis for the disease," said Simon Gregory, an Australian-born geneticist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who took part in the IL7-R work. The two studies, published simultaneously by Nature Genetics and the New England Journal of Medicine, were carried out by two consortiums of scientists, from the US and Cambridge University in Britain. The genetic variants were unearthed thanks to a comparison of more than 20,000 samples of DNA, provided by patients diagnosed with MS and those without the disease, living in the US and Europe. "People have been looking for genes involved in MS for 30 years," said David Hafler, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, a lead author on the IL2-R study." **Update - here's another good link about this for those that are interested. - posted by Anonymous @ 10:24 PM - Link @ 10:24 PM - Link to this post - Comments (0)