09/08/2011

Scientists have identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of a very debilitating neurological disease. Many of the genes implicated in the study are relevant to the immune system, shedding light onto the immunological pathways that underlie the development of multiple sclerosis. The research, involving an international team of investigators led by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published today, 11 August, in the journal Nature. This is the largest MS genetics study ever undertaken and includes contributions from almost 250 researchers as members of the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. Hospital Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEM-Cat) and IDIBAPS – Hospital Clínic of Barcelona are the two Spanish centers among the 131 participant institutions. The teams led by Dr. Manuel Comabella and Dr. Xavier Montalban, from VHIR and CEM-Cat, and Dr. Pablo Villoslada, from the Neuroimmunology Center at IDIBAPS - Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, contributed to the study by providing samples from Spanish patients with multiple sclerosis. "http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7359/full/nature10251.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20110811#/affil-auth" Journal Nature