Multiple sclerosis sibling pairs

Abstract

We evaluated 48 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (R/R MS) sibling pairs derived from 44 families for age and date of onset of MS symptoms, clinical course, and family history of MS. Age- and sex-matched R/R MS clinic patients provided a statistical comparison group. The age of onset tended to cluster within multiplex families. The initial symptom of MS occurred within 5 years of age in 30/48 sibling pairs compared with 16/48 controls. A positive family history of MS (other than siblings) was present in 43% of the multiplex families compared with 20% among simplex controls. In 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-degree relatives who had lived into the age at risk, 22/1,134 family members of multiplex sibling pairs had probable or definite MS compared with 10/1,215 control family members. Age of onset clustering in siblings concordant for R/R MS and an increased risk of MS in other family members suggest that factors influencing disease onset may be in part inherited in these kindreds.

Optic neuritis in multiple sclerosis

“…Overall, the risk is highest in monozygotic twins with a concordance rate of about 30% in digyzotic twins and in other siblings less than 10%, providing strong evidence for genetic factors in MS. [127][128][129][130] In siblings, the earliest symptoms of the disease tend to cluster by age rather than by year, suggesting that genetic factors influence the onset of the disease. [131][132][133] Based on association studies using the case-control design testing specific candidate genes and studying sporadic and familial cases, the only consistently replicated finding has been an association with the HLA-DR2 allele within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6. Data from the 1998 study by Haines et al 133 strongly indicate that sporadic and familial MS share a common genetic susceptibility.…”

Absence of Mycoplasma-specific DNA sequence in brain, blood and CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS): A study by PCR and real-time PCR

“…Many clinical, epidemiological, and pathological features of MS suggest that it is an infectious disease. These include the clinical course of a progressive and relapsing disease [16,17], twin studies indicating that the concordance of MS monozygotic twins is only approximately 35% and this is insufficient to implicate a purely genetic basis [18][19][20][21][22][23][24], the epidemiological occurrence of disease in clusters [25][26][27], a variability in prevalence by geographic location [28,29], an age-related acquisition risk [29], and inflammatory patterns of neuropathology [30,31] with tissue macrophages, perivascular lymphocytic infiltration, complement deposition, and increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNFalpha, IL-1, IL-2, etc. [32,33].…”

Neck pain and calcium deposition

“…Previous studies have reported clustering for age at onset in affected siblings 8,[21][22][23] or in families with more complex pedigrees. 11,24 Others have not reproduced this finding.…”