MS runs heavy in bio family

[LadyBeeley]

So I recently found my biological family. I am 22yrs old and occassionally have a random spasm I cant control and have no clue if thats MS related or not, after meeting them and finding out it runs in the family it got me curious though.

I am pregnant and wanted to know how MS could impact my baby. There are currently 3 family members in wheel chairs from their MS, several cousins with what they call "small bouts of MS", and another member who recently passed away from his MS, I am told. Can anyone tell me how this could (if at all) impact my child? Should I tell my doctor now?

[PeninaD]

I am quite interested in this topic myself, as I have identical twin girls, one of whom was recently diagnosed with MS. Their biological paternal grandmother has MS.

What I have found was this, from Mount Sinai College of Medicine  3.The Basics of Genetics in Multiple Sclerosis (English, Spanish)
Aliza Ben-Zacharia, RN, CRRN, MSN, MSCN, ANP-BC; and Linda Morgante, RN, CRRN, MSN, MSCN:

"The risk of developing MS in people who have no relatives with MS is about 1 in 1,000. Eighty percent (80%) of people who develop MS have no relatives with MS, and 20% have at least one affected relative with the disease. The risk of MS in the siblings of a person with MS is significantly higher. A measure of the size of the genetic component of disease susceptibility is the sibling risk, which is defined as the ratio of the disease risk in a sibling of an affected individual to the general population. The sibling risk for MS may range from 1 in 20 to 1 in 50. As one moves from siblings to first and third cousins, the risk decreases. However, the first, second, and third-degree relatives of people with MS are more likely to have the disease than the general population (Dyment, Ebers, & Sadovnick, 2004). Adoptive relatives, although raised from infancy with the MS patient, have the same susceptibility to MS as the general population. This evidence substantiates the fact that familial aggregation of MS is related to genetic sharing rather than to a shared environment (Ebers et al., 1995). The half-sibling and full sibling studies showed a 2.35% for MS in siblings with a shared mother who had MS, and 1.31% for a shared father who had MS, indicating a maternal effect. The risk of transferring MS from mother to siblings was higher (Dyment, Ebers, & Sadovnick, 2004; Ebers, 1996).  Identical monozygotic twins are more often concordant for MS than dizygotic twins (26% versus 2.4%), which correlate with a genetic component. However, following monozygotic twins past age 50, and using clinical findings and MRI data, less than 50% were concordant, suggesting a role for environmental factors (Ebers et al., 1986; Hupperts et al., 2001)."

[LadyBeeley]

Thank you very much! I hadnt spoken to any of my family members about the MS and only just thought of it since the only one I occassionally have contact with relapsed the other day and it left her left side severely weakened. Your information has me very relieved that noth myself and my baby could essentially be free of the MS life some of my biological family copes with. I appreciate your time and effort in reading and responding to my post.

[immisceo]

If it is causing you distress, absolutely mention it to your doctor. Please note that while there is thought to be a genetic component to MS, it is not hereditary, strictly speaking. There is a slight increase of developing the disease if an immediate family member (sibling/parent) has it, but that's about it. Also, please note that the disease course for the most common version of the disease (Relapsing-Remitting MS) is not at all what it once was due to modern treatments. Statistically, most of us will not ever need to use a wheelchair and only sporadically need a walking aid. I'm not sure if your cousins are formally diagnosed, but their 'small bouts' could be relapses as seen in this RRMS manifestation.

I personally wouldn't be overly concerned about a muscle spasm in isolation. MS diagnosis is made after a battery of tests, neurological exams, and a personal history. There would usually need to be more than the spasm to indicate to your doctor that a referral to a neurologist was warranted.

You are not diagnosed, and it doesn't sound like that's the most likely cause of what is ailing you (though we're not medical professionals here), so it is rather premature to be concerned about the impact on your child. However, given what you have seen in your own family, I think it's understandable to thinking this way. Often (but not always), pregnancy leads to an MS symptom vacation. Young women with MS are no longer discouraged from having children as a matter of course, rather they may be given occupational therapy and information of how best to use their energy resources. It's no easy task, but women with MS become parents every day with the same life-expectancy as their peers.

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

MS is extremely uncommon to run in families, statistically with a first person relation its only around 3-5% which is why MS isn't thought to be hereditary like a lot of other autoimmune conditions. Resent research has found quite a few potential genetic markers, but at this stage its only potential and genetic susceptibility, rather than proof positive of a genetic variable in our DNA. Other factors such as environmental, viral exposure etc still play a roll but what exactly is causing MS is as yet still unknown.

Honestly, if i was in your position I would be quite interested in finding out if there was a possibility of a genetic condition and out of curiosity I probably would bring this up with my family doctor. Keep in mind that statistically MS is not typically hereditary, and even in the rare family cases, not every person in the family with their genetic association does have MS, and the further you are away from the first person connection the lower the odds, so there would be a higher chance from my understanding, of you never being dx with MS.

Cheers.............JJ

ps congratulations on the new bub