ScienceAlert
The secrets of our ancestors might hold the key to why multiple sclerosis (MS) is more common among white, northern Europeans than among Europe’s more southern populations. While scientists have found hundreds of genes to date that are associated with MS, up to a fifth of northern Europeans have a genetic variant, called HLA-DRB1*15:01, that conveys a threefold higher risk of developing the autoimmune disease.
Where this variant came from and why it persisted and spread is a mystery. An international team of researchers, led by William Barrie from the University of Cambridge, now thinks they are on to a new lead. Barrie and his colleagues combined dozens of newly sequenced Medieval and post-Medieval Danish genomes with a database of ancient sequences to come up with a database of individuals representing tens of thousands of years of humanity across Eurasia.
Among these, they found “striking patterns” in the gene variants associated with MS today…Story continues…
By: Carly Cassella
Source: Ancient DNA Helps Solve Multiple Sclerosis Mystery in Europe
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