Genetic risk of MS
MS patients who are planning to start a family may be concerned about passing down MS to their child [1]. Although MS does not follow Mendelian patterns of inheritance, its incidence and prevalence are higher in family members of affected individuals compared with the general population [2]. According to current understanding, the development of MS is based on complex and individually heterogeneous interactions between genetic and environmental factors [3]. A number of risk and susceptibility genes for MS have been identified [4], but their precise biological roles remain to be clarified [3]. In Germany, the estimated risk of MS in the general population is 0.1-0.2%. This risk increases depending on the degree of the relationship with someone who has MS (see figure) [5].
Risk of MS by relationship to someone with MS [5]
References
- Anderson J, Wallace L. Practising Midwife 2013; 16(6): 28-31. Return to content
- Patsopoulos NA. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2018; 8(7): a028951. Return to content
- Waubant E et al. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2019; 6(9): 1905-22. Return to content
- Coyle PK. Ther Adv Neurol Disord 2016; 9(3): 198-210. Return to content
- Kompetenznetz Multiple Sklerose: Qualitätshandbuch, 2022. Available at: https://ms-qualitaetshandbuch.de/ (Accessed August 22, 2022). Return to content
