title: British Isles survey of multiple sclerosis in twins: MRI.
abstract: 64/105 subjects who have a twin with multiple sclerosis included in a study of clinical concordance also underwent MRI of the brain. 8/23 monozygotic and 1/41 dizygotic co-twins from this subgroup were clinically concordant of whom 8/9 had MRI appearances typical of multiple sclerosis. Of the 48 clinically discordant twins aged less than 60, abnormalities on MRI were detected in 6/15 (40%) monozygotic and 13/33 (39%) dizygotic twins compared with 7/37 (19%) healthy age-matched controls. Abnormalities on MRI typical of multiple sclerosis (defined by the Fazekas criteria) were, however, present in only 2/15 (13%) monozygotic and 3/33 (9%) dizygotic twins and 0/37 controls. These results suggest that about 10% of monozygotic and dizygotic twins have "subclinical multiple sclerosis". It is likely that most of the MRI abnormalities seen in clinically discordant twins, however, represent incidental pathology.
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis NMR Research Group, Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mumford
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Compston
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: MacManus
authors.forename: W I
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006113:United Kingdom