genes vs contagion - MS may be non-communicable

[Guest guest]

if the data in PMID 8656905 are good.

First of all, if you have an identical twin with the disease your risk

factor is 300x vs 30x if you have another sort of first degree

relative with it. This suggets genes are quite heavy determinants.

Second, " there were no significant differences in risk [...] for half-

siblings raised together versus those raised apart from the index case

(1.17 percent vs 1.47 percent). "

Of course, this only bears on whether the disease is communicable...

if asymptomatic infection were quite common, the presumed organism

still could be communicable consistent with these data, but in that

case it might not matter much.