mentions HMSN (CMT) - Research from UK

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Abstract from Brain Res Bull. 2003 Aug 15;61(3):229-34.

(Mentions Hereditary Motor Sensory Neuropathy - another name for CMT)

Searching for needles in haystacks-the genetics of multiple sclerosis

and other common neurological diseases.

Hensiek AE, Sawcer SJ, Compston DA.

Department of Neurology, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's

Hospital, Hills Road, CB2 2QQ, Cambridge, UK

Recent years have witnessed considerable advances in our understanding

of monogenic neurodegenerative diseases, such as hereditary motor

sensory neuropathy and Huntington's Chorea. Progress has been slower in

the genetic dissection of other more common neurological diseases with a

complex mode of inheritance. The identification of relevant genes in

some, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD), has

been facilitated by characteristic pathological findings and autosomal

dominant inheritance in a proportion of early onset families. Attempts

to identify relevant genes for multiple sclerosis have highlighted the

role of the major histocompatibility complex, but so far failed to

unequivocally implicate other immunologic or structural candidate genes.

Six linkage-based whole genome screens have been completed in multiple

sclerosis and several regions of interest have been identified. As

technology and progress in the human genome project advance, it has

become clear that future studies of common neurological diseases will

depend critically on the availability of large sample sizes and will

have to address issues of disease heterogeneity.

PMID: 12909292 [PubMed - in process]