Analysing the effect of candidate genes on complex traits: an application in multiple sclerosis.

The conventional approach of candidate gene studies in complex diseases is to look at the effect of one gene at a time. However, as the outcome of chronic diseases is influenced by a large number of alleles, simultaneous analysis is needed. We demonstrate the application of multivariate regression and cluster analysis to a multiple sclerosis (MS) dataset with genotypes for 489 patients at 11 candidate genes selected on their involvement in the immune response.

The impact of glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms on glucocorticoid sensitivity is outweighted in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity varies considerably in healthy controls as well as in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated whether polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor (N363S, ER22/23EK, and the BclI) were responsible for altered GC sensitivity. In healthy controls we found an association between the N363S allele of the GR and a reduced peripheral GC sensitivity.

The interleukin-1 gene family in multiple sclerosis susceptibility and disease course.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of presumed autoimmune origin with a considerable polygenic influence. We have previously observed that a specific allele combination in genes of the interleukin-1 (IL-1) family influenced the progression rate in MS. We have considerably expanded our patient population (492 MS patients and 228 controls).