[kicker]

My nephew (late 30's) has been DXed with MS. But he doesn't look sick!!!

We have completely different types of MS. I'm PP, he's RR, some life experience same, most very different. We may share genetic predisposition but what set it off? No other MSers in family we know of, past or present. There's an Alcoholic predisposition (very Irish family) but neither of us drinks much.

[Debbie D]

Sorry to read this, Kicker. Fortunately he has someone who's been there, so you can keep him calm about it all.

[Jules A]

Originally Posted by kicker

We may share genetic predisposition but what set it off?

I don't think there necessarily needs to be something that "set it off". Genetics seem to be enough in many cases. Consider Tawanda who many of us know from another site. She has had MS for 10 years and still looks perfectly normal as those of us without MS will say. Her mother was bedridden and passed away from severe PPMS in her 40s.

My cousin and I both have it and our family connection seems to be the only common thread. We weren't raised in the same part of the country, had different upbringing and experiences. Essentially nothing that either of us can identify as something known to trigger MS. And yet here we be.

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by Jules A

My cousin and I both have it and our family connection seems to be the only common thread. We weren't raised in the same part of the country, had different upbringing and experiences. Essentially nothing that either of us can identify as something known to trigger MS. And yet here we be.

My cousin and I seem to be the only two in our family with MS. That's the only thing we have in common other than being from the same paternal side of the family (Dad's brothers daughter).

But......after I was diagnosed and after my Dad passed away I came to the conclusion that he had MS, too. Never was formally diagnosed but based on his symptoms and the fact that I have had the same symptoms I am convinced he had it as well.

Kicker, I hope your nephew gets on a DMD soon so it can keep him from progressing. If they had been around when I first had MS I think I would be in better shape today.

[caroline2]

My sister who deals with MS is the one who told me about the Vit D issue in 2006 and she was making sure her daughter was taking optimal Vit D as far as genetics. BTW: the latest research tells us about the need for K2 with the D3 for optimal efficiency. You probably all know this too.

My sister said she thought our mom had MS but I don't know. My mom had nasty OA as do I and she had bad balance in her later life as do I but mine is related to hip replacement. So mom could have had it but got to 91 anyway.

[Starznight]

MS is one of those weird genetic diseases. Wherein your cousin is more likely to have it than even your identical twin. Rarely do parents have MS with their children having MS as well (It does happen, but statistically it's more likely that a niece or nephew will have MS. Even more statistically likely that the child of a cousin will suffer from MS.)

It's almost as if there's some genetic block where if one contains the mutated gene it does not allow for the direct passing of the gene. But that the mutation can only be allowed to activate if there is a single chromosome with the mutation. A more truly recessive gene than blue eyes... in which both parents containing anywhere along their genetic pool can give birth to a blue eyed child even if their eyes are brown. It appears that with MS one parent must have a piece of the puzzle but not the entirety in their genetic pool.

There is some debate about viral exposure in early childhood, perhaps infancy, which is the catalyst for the disease if one is predisposed through genetics, but it's still not known if that is the cause.

It is also possible that genetics do not play the role we think it may at all. But mimics a genetic factor. And that the disease comes from any number of failures for one of the 4 base chemical compounds of which we're all made up of to correctly bind as the egg and sperm combine. This could be from an egg that is not quite fully matured being released or a sperm which might have some minor defect. A tiny lack of thymine, or guanine.... perhaps a slight imbalance to the sugar phosphate binding.

The immediate affects of which may go unnoticed for years or take hold almost from birth depending on the imbalance, but as the cells continue to die and multiply over the years the imbalance begins to show itself more readily and the MS presents it's beginning symptoms. The extreme of the imbalance might also be the distinguishing factor between RRMS and PPMS.

It would also explain the effects of vitamin D3 in patients with MS, as D3 is showing promising signs of stabilizing the nucleosomal structures of DNA (the sugar phosphate wrapping of the double helix, in which the chemical compounds; adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, create "ladders" upon.)

Sorry went a bit crazy there... But I do certainly believe that knowledge is power and so I heartily and regrettably welcome your nephew to the club. May he continue to enjoy "good health" and not be overly affected by this disease, whether he obtained it through genetics, viral exposure or a tiny nick in his DNA chains.

Be sure to let him know that we're all here for him.

[SallyC]

Sorry to hear Kicker.

I had a cousin who had an alcohol related neurological illness.
To me he had MS, just like me Symptoms the same and taking the same meds.
He was also gay. He committed suicide 15 yrs ago.

[kicker]

Sal, Your cousin got dealt some tough cards.

[Jules A]

The genetic implications are there and incidence is definitely increased especially in first degree relatives. In the US prevalence estimates are 90 cases per 100,000 population. If out of 10,000 people in our country only 9 have MS that there are two cases in my family alone certainly seems significant to me.

http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/...ple_sclerosis/

From AJE:
"Although most MS cases occur sporadically, a considerable proportion, as many as 20 percent, of the patients are related by family. While this accumulation of cases clearly suggests that first-degree relatives of MS patients are at increased risk of MS, previous attempts to assess the magnitude of the familial MS risk have arrived at variable estimates. Thus, the risk of MS has been reported to be increased from 12- to 38-fold in siblings, from seven- to 26-fold in parents, and from six- to 25-fold in children of MS."

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/162/8/774.long

[Jules A]

Originally Posted by SallyC

Sorry to hear Kicker.

I had a cousin who had an alcohol related neurological illness.
To me he had MS, just like me Symptoms the same and taking the same meds.
He was also gay. He committed suicide 15 yrs ago.

So very sad. Was it Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome? I hadn't thought of it before but you are correct it does present like advanced MS with nystagmus and ataxia.