My sister and I have MS.. what are the odds of this happening??

[ANGELEYES4SANDI]

I was diagnosed in 2001.  My sister was diagnosed in April.  What are the odds that this could happen.  Should we be concerned that my daughters will develop MS, especially when one daughter has chronic migraines?  No other history of MS in our family so far.

[Lulu54]

Hi Michelle, welcome to the MS forum.  You may not realize it but you have posted to a very old thread here.  Most people won't stop and read these older comments.  You might want to start a new conversaiton, and ask your question there.

We don't know of any chemical such as Agent Orange able to cause a disease like MS. but anything is possible.

For what it's worth. I am one of 5 girls in my family.  We grew up the same, ate the same food, played outside inj the sun (vit D) together and yet I am the only one with MS.  But I'm also the only one missing tonsils and an appendix.  

welcome again, Lulu

[mich2285]

Hello,
I was diagnosed with ms almost  4 years ago at the age of 32 and my sister was just diagnosed this past month.  She is 15 months older than me.  We are just searching to see if other sisters may have had any of the same experiences as us.  My dad is a vietnam veteran and he thinks he is the cause because of what they called agent orange that he was exposed to.  My mom had epilepsy when she was a young teenager to her older teens and then it never returned.  Those are two that stand out for the both of us.  Any advice.... Hope your feeling well.  Michelle

[Heather3418]

Hers's an interesting question about susceptibility in families.  I am adopted and only found out two years ago, in my fifties.  So I know of no other person in my family having MS or any symptoms.  Now my son-in-law has Lupus and a very severe case.  His father's side of the family also has two NEW cases of members having Lupus.

With me having MS and my son-in-law having Lupus, what does this spell for the grandchildren that I have?  I know these are both auto-immune disorders...do my grandchildren now have a greater risk of developing an auto-immune disorder?

I have tried to do research on the net to find out the answer to this question.  I guess my next visit with my Neuro may reveal the answer... Obviously I am scared for my grandchildren...god love them!

Heather

[pennst8r]

Can't blame a girl for trying:(

[Quixotic1]

From what I have read  the risk would still be about 1 in 20 if not a little higher, sorry.  Q

[pennst8r]

I hope that the odds of 3 siblings drops down to some miniscule #, say 1 in 1 billion??????

Penn

[Quixotic1]

The odds of developing MS in the general population are about 0.15% (about 1 in 800).  When an immediate family member has MS the odds increase to 2% to 5% with the highest risk occurring when a sibling has the MS.  So if you have a sibling with MS your risk of developing the disease is around 1 in 20.  It's not a genetically inherited disease, but there is clearly a genetic susceptibility.

This risk will be the same for your children.  The risk for MS has many, many factors, including, where your childhood was spent, your ancestry (highest risk with Northern European ancestry), infections suffered and when they were contracted.  Also, there is likely some role of sunshine/Vit D in the first two decades of life.

Quix

[Eliza3]

My sister has MS was diagnosed over 30 years ago. And I am in the process of getting my diagnoses.  We are 18 years apart.

[pennst8r]

I do not know the odds, but both of my sisters have MS. Both were diagnosed while I was in high school or college - much older than I am. I have been showing symptoms as well - in process of looking for answers. In my sister's MS society group, there are a few sets of sisters.

Penn