This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Folks,

I believe research has been ongoing almost for a decade to isolate the genes that might play a role in MS.

The link provides the most recent research on this:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 153259.htm

I am not very conversant about gene hunting, but based on reading few articles I have few questions/observations in light of CCSVI discovery.

1) A defective gene (present from birth) can cause a disease or an observed gene mutation can be due to the disease itself (like a side effect of a disease). So merely finding a gene that is specific to MS patients might not reveal anything (all MS patients can have gene mutation due to disease itself)

2) Sometime back I had read an article about gene mutations in MS. But the paper also mentioned that these mutations were not seen in some MS patients.

3) I believe the gene isolation has to happen from the cells where the suspect disease activity is present. For example, recently when UK groups isolated gene mutations in throat and lung cancers, I believe they used the cells from throat and lungs to do hunting.

4) Given this, do you think existing method of gene hunting in MS can be flawed. I mean, if you are looking for mutations in immune cells, you are not likely to see anything or see some unrelated mutations.
So should the gene hunting happen from the cells extracted from the disease site (e.g. near the jugular veins in this case)

CCSVI has opened lot of old old topics about MS. Maybe gene isolation could be another one ... just wanted to know your thoughts ...

Yes...what genes are involved in venous malformations, varicose veins, anything along those lines? Those should be cross-checked in MSers.

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"However, the truth in science ultimately emerges, although sometimes it takes a very long time," Arthur Silverstein, Autoimmunity: A History of the Early Struggle for Recognition