IFN-β and Multiple Sclerosis: From Etiology to Therapy and Back

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized, in its most common clinical presentation, by an unpredictable occurrence of relapse and remission phases [1–3]. The disease generally affects young adults [4], with a preference for female gender, as observed in many other immune-mediated conditions. Being a multifactorial disorder, its etiology involves both genetic and environmental risk factors. So far, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that genetic predisposition to MS is determined by more than 100 disease-associated susceptibility polymorphisms, located in coding and non-coding DNA [5].

Source: Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews - October 30, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: V. Annibali, R. Mechelli, S. Romano, M.C. Buscarinu, A. Fornasiero, R. Umeton, V.A.G. Ricigliano, F. Orzi, E.M. Coccia, M. Salvetti, G. Ristori Source Type: research