Multiple sclerosis and affective disorder. Family history, sex, and HLA-DR antigens
R. B. Schiffer, L. R. Weitkamp, N. M. Wineman and S. Guttormsen
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642.
To investigate a possible genetic cause underlying the clinical association
between multiple sclerosis (MS) and affective disorder, we studied 56
patients with MS for psychiatric and genetic (family history, sex, and
HLA-DR) characteristics. The 2:1 ratio of females to males expected for
patients with MS was observed in this sample (40:16), but the excess of
females occurred entirely among the 31 MS patients with major affective
disorder (27 females and four males). Bipolar probands with MS had
significantly more relatives with affective disorder or MS than did
unipolar probands with MS. The HLA-DR antigen frequencies in patients with
MS categorized by type and family history of affective disorder suggest
that it may be possible to validate such clustering of patients. We
concluded that sex and other genetic factors are related to the affective
symptoms in MS and emphasize the importance of psychiatric evaluation of
these patients.
