Skip to main content
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1994 Apr;57(4):497–499. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.57.4.497

Familial clustering of multiple sclerosis in a northern Swedish rural district.

M Binzer 1, L Forsgren 1, G Holmgren 1, U Drugge 1, S Fredrikson 1
PMCID: PMC1072883  PMID: 8164003

Abstract

A small rural district in the most northerly province of Sweden was found to have a very high occurrence of multiple sclerosis. A total of 12 patients with multiple sclerosis among 4744 inhabitants were identified (five females, seven males), corresponding to a prevalence of 253/100,000. Many of the patients were related and a further 21 cases with multiple sclerosis (14 females, seven males), mostly living in the neighbouring area, have family ties to the district. A genealogical investigation showed that 22 of the 33 patients identified had ties of kinship and thus, to our knowledge, the largest aggregation of multiple sclerosis in a family is presented.

Full text

PDF
498

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. DEACON W. E., ALEXANDER L., SIEDLER H. D., KURLAND L. T. Multiple sclerosis in a small New England community. N Engl J Med. 1959 Nov 19;261:1059–1061. doi: 10.1056/NEJM195911192612105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Davies S. J., Hughes H. E. Imprinting in Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy. J Med Genet. 1993 Feb;30(2):101–103. doi: 10.1136/jmg.30.2.101. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Doolittle T. H., Myers R. H., Lehrich J. R., Birnbaum G., Sheremata W., Franklin G. M., Nelson L. M., Hauser S. L. Multiple sclerosis sibling pairs: clustered onset and familial predisposition. Neurology. 1990 Oct;40(10):1546–1552. doi: 10.1212/wnl.40.10.1546. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Eastman R., Sheridan J., Poskanzer D. C. Multiple sclerosis clustering in a small Massachusetts community, with possible common exposure 23 years before onset. N Engl J Med. 1973 Oct 11;289(15):793–794. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197310112891507. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ebers G. C., Bulman D. E., Sadovnick A. D., Paty D. W., Warren S., Hader W., Murray T. J., Seland T. P., Duquette P., Grey T. A population-based study of multiple sclerosis in twins. N Engl J Med. 1986 Dec 25;315(26):1638–1642. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198612253152603. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hader W. J., Irvine D. G., Schiefer H. B. A cluster-focus of multiple sclerosis at Henribourg, Saskatchewan. Can J Neurol Sci. 1990 Nov;17(4):391–394. doi: 10.1017/s0317167100030948. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KURTZKE J. F. FAMILIAL INCIDENCE AND GEOGRAPHY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. Acta Neurol Scand. 1965;41:127–139. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1965.tb04286.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KURTZKE J. F. FURTHER NOTES ON DISABILITY EVALUATION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, WITH SCALE MODIFICATIONS. Neurology. 1965 Jul;15:654–661. doi: 10.1212/wnl.15.7.654. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kinnunen E., Koskenvuo M., Kaprio J., Aho K. Multiple sclerosis in a nationwide series of twins. Neurology. 1987 Oct;37(10):1627–1629. doi: 10.1212/wnl.37.10.1627. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mackay R. P., Myrianthopoulos N. C. Multiple sclerosis in twins and their relatives. Arch Neurol. 1966 Nov;15(5):449–462. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1966.00470170003001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. PRATT R. T. C., COMPSTON N. D., McALPINE D. The familial incidence of disseminated sclerosis and its significance. Brain. 1951;74(2):191–232. doi: 10.1093/brain/74.2.191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. SCHUMACHER G. A., BEEBE G., KIBLER R. F., KURLAND L. T., KURTZKE J. F., MCDOWELL F., NAGLER B., SIBLEY W. A., TOURTELLOTTE W. W., WILLMON T. L. PROBLEMS OF EXPERIMENTAL TRIALS OF THERAPY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: REPORT BY THE PANEL ON THE EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL TRIALS OF THERAPY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1965 Mar 31;122:552–568. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1965.tb20235.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sadovnick A. D., Baird P. A., Ward R. H. Multiple sclerosis: updated risks for relatives. Am J Med Genet. 1988 Mar;29(3):533–541. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.1320290310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sadovnick A. D., Bulman D., Ebers G. C. Parent-child concordance in multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol. 1991 Mar;29(3):252–255. doi: 10.1002/ana.410290304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sadovnick A. D., Macleod P. M. The familial nature of multiple sclerosis: empiric recurrence risks for first, second-, and third-degree relatives of patients. Neurology. 1981 Aug;31(8):1039–1041. doi: 10.1212/wnl.31.8.1039. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tienari P. J., Wikström J., Sajantila A., Palo J., Peltonen L. Genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis linked to myelin basic protein gene. Lancet. 1992 Oct 24;340(8826):987–991. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)93007-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES