April 14, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD WNT9B Genetic Variant Linked to Increased Relapse Risk A genetic variant in the WNT9B gene and vitamin D response are both associated with a greater risk of relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study in Belgium has found. The study, āGenetic variation inĀ WNT9BĀ increases relapse hazard in multiple sclerosis,ā was published in the journal…
December 20, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Genetic Variant Linked to MS Affects More Than Immune Cells, Study Finds A genetic variant associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) due to its impact on certain immune system cells can also affect brain cells called astrocytes, a study shows. Reported in the study, āEnhanced astrocyte responses are driven by a genetic risk allele associated with multiple…
July 20, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Single Gene Variant May Identify MS Patients at Risk of Liver Damage Linked to Interferon-Beta Use, Study Says A genetic variant close to a gene called interferon regulatory factor 6Ā (IRF6) may help to predict those multiple sclerosis (MS) patients most at risk of liver injury while using interferon-beta therapies, a study reports. The study, āCommon variation nearĀ IRF6Ā is associated with IFN-Ī²-induced liver injury in multiple sclerosisā was published…
May 10, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Increased Risk of Autoimmune Diseases Linked to Malaria-resisting Gene Variation A variation in a gene that likely promoted resistance to malaria in Sardinia may have increased the risk of people there developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study, āOverexpression of the Cytokine BAFF and Autoimmunity Risk,ā was published in The…
November 10, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Men and Women Seen to Differ in Genetic Susceptibility to MS and Its Progression in Study Researchers in Russia found for a first time an association between variants in GAL, a gene that codes for the galanin protein, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Importantly, they alsoĀ found that this association is sex specific. The study,Ā āSingle-nucleotide polymorphism rs948854 in human galanin gene and multiple sclerosis: a…
June 1, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Variants of Gene Linked to MS, ANKRD55, Found in Immune Cells Associated with Disease Researchers detected theĀ expression of the gene ANKRD55Ā in immune cells, a gene thatĀ has been previously linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice models of the disease. The results suggest a potential role of ANKRD55 in MS pathogenesis. The study,Ā āNovel Insights into the Multiple Sclerosis Risk Gene ANKRD55,ā…
September 8, 2015 News by Maureen Newman New Genetic Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis Identified in Study Two new risk factors for multiple sclerosis have been identified by a research group at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Led by Dr. Loukas Moutsianas, the team discovered that having HLA-DQA1*01:01āHLA-DRB1*15:01 and HLA-DQB1*03:01āHLA-DQB1*03:02 gene allele…
May 18, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Genetic Variant as Predictor of Patients’ Response to MS Treatment A team led by researchers at San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy andĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts recently revealed a new genetic variant linked to multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is entitled āA pharmacogenetic study implicates SLC9a9 in multiple sclerosis disease activityā and isĀ published in…