Pathologie-biologie
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Pathologie-biologie · Dec 2013
Genetic factors and multiple sclerosis in the Moroccan population: a role for HLA class II.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that mainly affects young adults. The association between susceptibility to MS and HLA class II genes, in particular the DRB1*15 allele, has been reported in diverse ethnic groups. The aim of our study was to investigate the distribution of HLA-DRB1* and -DQB1* alleles in Moroccan population and their implication in the susceptibility to the disease. ⋯ Our results reveal a role for HLA-DRB1*15 allele molecules in the predisposition of Moroccan patients to MS. Although this study should be confirmed on a larger sample size, it analyzes for the first time the possible role of a genetic marker for susceptibility to MS in Moroccan population.