Is the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) hereditary?

Hi, I'm 33 years old and I have a question about multiple sclerosis that is bothering me for a long time now. I would like to know if multiple sclerosis a hereditary disease. The reason why I'm interested in knowing this is because I have a family history of this disease, most of my family father and my older sister, have multiple sclerosis and also some of my ancestors reaching even to the 4. generation in the past. What are the chances that I could get multiple sclerosis and is it scientifically proven that MS is hereditary?

The real cause of multiple sclerosis has not been determined yet. It is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, causing the destruction of the supportive structures of the CNS and subsequent deterioration of the function of the brain. There are many speculations about the real causes of the disease but no real connection has been found between factors that may cause it and the disease itself. For now we cannot say that the disease itself is hereditary, but the studies among many families have shown that the prevalence for the disease can be hereditary. The research has also shown that most affected are Caucasian women between 15 and 35 years of age. That doesn’t mean that it cannot affect other races. Also, although black Africans have almost no MS, African Americans have incidence of MS that is very close to Caucasians. It is still thought that causes of multiple sclerosis are in the environment, so people living in the continental, European climate are more likely to get the disease then those living in other areas of the world, no matter what heir origin is. I can't tell you much about your chances for getting multiple sclerosis but the according to the research the possibility might be up to 20 %. If youre experiencing any symptoms of MS or have any other question about it be sure to consult your physician.

My son was just diagnosed at the age of 18 with MS. He developed symptoms at age 16, to the severety where we thought it was a stroke. I am his mother and am 39, and the last week have started to experience the same symptoms he first started out with and continues to have. Is it possible for a mother and son to both have MS and if so, what are the chances of my other 3 children developing this later in life?

This is an excellent question. I have recently found myself asking a similar question. They say it is not an hereditary disease but my mother, sister, brother and now possibly myself have been diagnosed. My Doctor said they think although MS is not known to be hereditary a virus that may cause it can be. I find it very hard to believe that all of us have it and they still consider this disease not hereditary. If I were you I would see if you could get an MRI. Better safe than sorry. Hopefully, knowing that it was a possibility I found it early...my siblings and mother were not so lucky.

my daughter is sixteen and her father has had it for 14 years, I can't get a straight answer if it is hereditary or not - what can I do to try to prevent my beautiful girl from developing it

There is no way to prevent it. My dad died from MS in '97 when I was 10... he was diagnosed when he was 5. He was 35 when he died. From what I've gathered, there is no way to avoid it but thanks to new aged treatment options it can be lightly controlled. I don't believe it is hereditary but I do believe that the symptoms can pass. Auto-Immune diseases are growing in our society and it is not something researchers know a ton about.

Get it checked out, keep contact with doctors... but signs can pop up anywhere. My dad was fine until suddenly he developed it. No other family history has ever had it. I do worry that I might get it, but I know my chances aren't as high as I once thought.

it supposedly isn't hereditary but my mum was diagnosed with it when i was 6, now im 23 and have just been diagnosed with ms.

augustson:
I just joined this group and I was dx'd with MS 15 years ago. I found out my mother had it and also her grandmother had it as well. It is as you say - they do not know what MS is. It is coined to be an autoimmune disease.

However, I have always believed it to be a virus of some odd sort. I just found out last week, July 2009, that a scientist at U.C. San Francisco is researching the possibility that MS is indeed a virus. Hurray! We may find out what this illness is at some point in our lives if we are lucky.

I haven't seen anything yet that helps this condition personally.

It is sad that it is heredity, the gene has recently been identified in fact. However, the chance of transferring it to children is said to be low but I have a difficult time believing this given my own case history.

I am very glad I opted not to bear and children.

My husband was diagnosed with Ms about four years ago. when he was diagnosed i did a lot of reasurch to find out as much as I can about it. this is what I know. It is more common in women then in men. We do get our immune systems inharited from our parents therefore in that aspect it is inhareted, but uncommon for people in the same family to have inharited this disease. There are other diseases that mimic ms and can be mistaken for ms. MS effects each person differently. It is a progressive disease. It effects the mylen in the brain,Basicly the ammune system attacks the Mylen (protien cover on nerve cells in the brain). That is why it is an auto-ammune disorder. If the mylin is gone then the brain signals are "shorting out'. Kind of like if you had a bare wire pugged into a wall socket. The sparkes would be every where and not not know where to go. This is what causes the systoms- pain ,numbness, and eye problems and the list goes on.

People who grew up in southern hymaspheres are less likely to have MS then those who grew up in the north. A lot of doctors be lieve this is because of a vitamine D defficiency in children between birth and 13 or 14 years old. And, why the sysmtoms are worse in the winter then in the summer months. most people are not diagnoses until they are adults in there late twenties and up. But, some have been diagnosed a lot younger even children .THis is not common but it does happen.

There is no diet or natural remady found to help MS. There are lots of treatments. My husband takes a shot everyday called Copaxone. He has been mostly symptom free for about 4 years since he was diagnosed and started treatment. It took about 4month to be diagnosed and went through a spinal tape 2 MRI's and mega blood work. I hear that this disease can be devisating ,but by the grace of God we don't know that right now.

My husband has a second cousin who is also a male and close to his age be diagnosed about the same time My husband was. He isn't in as good of shape as my husband is. My husbands Dr. is baffled by this because of the rarity of two males in the same family the same age having MS.It is that unlikely.

I hope this answers your questions. If I were as worried about it as you then I would have my self be given an MRI even if you have no systoms. My husband hade over 20 scares (lesions) from MS on his MRI which tells us he had it a long time before he had any noticeable symptoms. If all else it will ease your mind about if you have it or are going to get it or not. And having peace of mind is worht the cost.

So I hope that this answers your question.

There has been 3 straight generations in my family with MS.

It started with my great-grandmother, then her daughter (my great aunt), then her daughter (my 2nd cousin, I believe is the correct term).

No one in my generation has been diagnosed, however the major of us are still in our early to mid-20's so we could in the future.

Has there been studies that looks at the heredity aspects of MS?