MS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, cancers

[snuglbun]

I found this website while looking specifically for information regarding a link between Rhumatoid arthritis and MS. My mom and sister were both diagnosed with rhumatoid arthritis many years ago and I always wondered why I did not get it. Then in November of last year my 19 year old daughter was diagnosed with MS. I never connected the two but recently a friend told me that there is a link between the two and although I never actually had either of these deseases I may have passed on the gene to my daughter. Is this possible?

[Dawnsmspage]

With which type of MS have you been diagnosed? RR

Have you been diagnosed with lupus? No..my mom has it

Have you been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis? No

Have you ever had cancer? No

What type of cancer? N/A

[BioDocFL]

Snuglbun,
Thanks for responding. Since there are no specific genes that have been found consistently linked to either RA or MS, we can not say for sure how your relatives' MS or RA originated. However, since there is a female predominance in both of the diseases, it suggests the possiblility that the X chromosome is involved. It may not be specific gene mutations (genetics) but rather how the genes are packaged (epigenetics). Some stress event at the cell level (ex. virus or hormones)could disrupt the proper packaging so that the underlying genes are expressed at abnormal rates (more or less than normal). That is part of the hypothesis I have been developing. I have an article in press explaining my hypothesis in more detail, and the genes I believe are involved. The article should be appearing online any day now at Medical Hypotheses. It is too complicated to explain in brief. I may be wrong but I think it is an area that needs to be considered further. Again, it is my belief that the diseases share a similar mechanism, a mechanism occurring primarily in non-immune cells with consequences that differ in RA, MS, lupus, etc. based on the vulnerabilities of the cell types in which the mechanism occurs.