Trends in Genetics
Volume 13, Issue 6, June 1997, Pages 234-239
Journal home page for Trends in Genetics

Review
The genetic analysis of multiple sclerosis

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9525(97)01140-2Get rights and content

Although monogenic diseases often show extreme clinical phenotypes, the major burden of genetic ill health lies in the more prevalent polygenic disorders, such as diabetes, hypertension and multiple sclerosis. These conditions affect many thousands of individuals and their management consumes vast amounts of health care resources: in the UK some 80 000 people have multiple sclerosis; the estimated financial cost to society of introducing treatments, such as β interferon, could be as high as 250 million pounds per year. Knowledge on the genetics of these common diseases is poor, but has potentially received a considerable boost with the arrival of whole genome screening. The genome screen in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) reported in 1994 was the first in a human polygenic disease. Since this publication, whole genome screening has been performed in a variety of human polygenic diseases, including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and multiple sclerosis.

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