Reading these boards it’s surprising how many of us sadly have other family members with m.s.
Is any research being done in this area - has any one with another family member with m.s. along with the relative been been ‘studied?’
no.
my auntie had it in the 1960’s and died in early 80’s.
i was never still or sober enough to be studied then!
My mother has it, as did her cousin. When I was diagnosed about 4 years ago the ms nurse ticked a box on a form saying my mother has it but don’t know what the form was for. Nothing else has ever been said to me about it being in the family but it does seem quite common.
I can’t remember where I read it but I remember reading that there’s a higher probability of a sibling (and possibly? a child) having MS if someone has it. As far as I’m aware I’m the first person with MS in my family, including extended family like third cousins.
When I was diagnosed in 1991, the Neurologist asked me if there was any history of MS in my family. I said “no” and then, 6 months later, my Aunt was diagnosed with MS. However, since 1991, no-one else in my family has been diagnosed with any neurological disorders - famous last words! This from the MS Trust is a good read - Is MS hereditary or not? | MS Trust
There is a current theory that MS follows an attack of Threadworms, followed by Epstein Barr virus.
There is another theory originally from Psychology that a lot of conditions result from three things coming together at the wrong time (the Three Component Theory). the components are: Genetic,Environmental, and Situational.
As far as I know, no one has tried to apply this to MS.
Geoff
I read (again I can’t remember where) you have a 2% higher likelihood of being diagnosed if you have an immediate family member with MS
My half sister was diagnosed about 10 years before me but the she is about 10 years older than me.