Research identifies new genes linked with MS

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - After decades of dead ends, scientists have identified two genes that may raise the risk of multiple sclerosis, lending insight into the causes of the debilitating disease.

The findings, released in two medical journals on Sunday, represent the first genes conclusively linked to multiple sclerosis in more than 20 years, experts said.

MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects about 350,000 people in the United States and more than 2.5 million people globally.

In a large-scale study appearing in an online version of the New England Journal of Medicine, teams of international researchers scanned the entire human genome of more than 12,000 people for MS risk factors.

That study uncovered two new gene suspects, both of which are thought to play a role in autoimmune disease.

Until now, the only genetic link identified with MS was the major histocompatibility complex, or MHC, a large cluster of genes essential to the immune system.

Neither of the newly discovered genes appears to be as instrumental to developing the disease as MHC, but the research is important because it lends insight into other genetic factors that raise a person's risk of multiple sclerosis.

"Having this genetic road map will be of incredible importance in developing new therapies," said Dr. David Hafler of Harvard Medical School, who worked on the genome study.