[Will multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility genes one day become biomarkers for MS diagnosis?]. / Les gènes impliqués dans la sclérose en plaques seront-ils un jour des biomarqueurs du diagnostic de la maladie ?

ABSTRACT

Over the past 5 years, studies of multiple sclerosis (MS) genes have made spectacular progress. Today, more than 50 genes have been found to have an established role in MS, and there is no doubt that this list will continue to grow. The genes identified so far point to the metabolic pathways involving the immune system, thereby suggesting than inflammation is an early process in the course of the disease and probably the major cause of the axonal degeneration that results in neurological deficiencies and handicap. They also raise the question of the usefulness of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of MS.