Multiple Sclerosis and Diabetes-Hitting two birds with one stone

Background and Aim : An autoimmune disease is a condition where your immune system mistakenly attacks your healthy cells and tissues, which both genetic and environmental factors are being noted as the etiology.Methods : Sometimes common causes lead to Simultaneous incidence of two of these diseases such as Multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) that are among the most prevalent ones which both have dramatic effect on patient’s life. Although they considered as multifactorial diseases, but it’s believed that they can be managed genetically. In this regard, if we aim the common causes, we would be able to hit these two birds with one stone!Results : In this regard, it is essential to notice the main responsible genes for each disease and overlaps in the molecular pathways. Basis for co-localization of loci between MS and T1D can be due to three cases: 1) the same allele of the same gene, 2) different alleles of the same gene, or 3) various members of a tightly linked complex of functionally related genes. Several research have been done to identify common genetic candidates and susceptibility loci. The summary of results indicates single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD226 gene and CLEC16A that are unequivocally associated with T1D also revealed evidence for associations with MS. In addition other non-HLA genes are shown to have associated with the risk of MS and T1D which include IL2RA and IL7RA.Conclusion : On the other hand, these studies are not sufficient to reach a strong conclusion. Although there is so much to investigate, the light is noticeable at the end of this tunnel.

Keywords:

Multiple Sclerosis , Diabetes Mellitus , Type 1 , Autoimmune Diseases