Scientists discover 5,000-years-old genes increasing MS risk

Northern Europeans have a higher genetic risk for MS, while Southern Europeans are more likely to develop bipolar disorder, according to research

A team of international scientists has cracked that the genes, that increase the risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), entered Northwestern Europe about 5,000 years ago during the great migration of cattle herders called Yamnaya.

Scientists, from the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Copenhagen, researched how people living in Northern Europe have twice the incidence of MS per 100,000 people than people living in Southern Europe.

The research – called “a quantum leap” – also revealed that Northern Europeans have a higher genetic risk for MS, while Southern Europeans are more likely to develop bipolar disorder.

On the other hand, Eastern Europeans are more vulnerable to developing Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to the research.

A DNA bank of 5,000 people has also been set up from samples used in the research, from archaeological and anthropological research in Europe and Asia.

Source: Newsroom