When Dessa Sadovnick was a young professor in the 1980s, pushing her theory that genetics might play a role in multiple sclerosis, she encountered much resistance.
But decades of research — using blood samples from thousands of people with MS — has vindicated Sadovnick.
Today, she is a professor at the University of British Columbia, where her biobank has been used for many research papers. One, published today in the journal Neuron, shows that the primary progressive form of MS, which accounts for 15 per cent of people with the disease, can be caused by a single mutation.
“I was the over the moon really. This is one of the biggest findings ever for MS,” said senior author Carles Vilariño-Güell, an assistant professor of medical genetics at UBC.
“This one mutation opens a ton of doors to really tackle the causes of the disease.”
The discovery could lead not only to better treatments, but to finding ways to stop the disease before symptoms develop.
“I’m hoping this will be very beneficial for not only people who have MS, but also for their families, their communities, and their friends,” said Sadovnick.