Science Spotlight: Multiple sclerosis genetics point inside the brain

Two papers in the same issue of Nature Genetics suggest that genetic risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) is mediated partly within the brain — through neurons and blood vessels — as well as through circulating immune cells.

A Columbia University-led team headed by Philip De Jager conducted a multi-ancestry GWAS of 20,831 MS cases and 729,220 controls, identifying 236 non-MHC susceptibility variants. A polygenic risk score optimized for European ancestry also proved informative in African American and Latino individuals...