A new research project out of South Australia is taking a closer look at how genetics and a common virus might help identify people at risk of multiple sclerosis long before symptoms appear.
Backed by MS Australia through its Incubator Grant program, the study is being led by Dr David Stacey and a team at the University of South Australia, with support from the Perron Institute and the University of Adelaide. Their approach centres on something called ‘recall by genotype’—a method that groups participants by DNA and may offer a clearer window into how MS starts in the first place.
MS affects more than 33,000 Australians. It disrupts communication between the brain and the body, leading to symptoms that vary widely, including fatigue, vision problems and muscle weakness. While the exact cause is still unclear, researchers have long suspected a mix of environmental and genetic factors is at play.
One such environmental factor is the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which infects most people at some point in their lives. Often associated with glandular fever, EBV has increasingly been linked to MS. But the virus is so common—affecting up to 90% of the global population—that it alone can’t explain who eventually gets diagnosed.
That’s where this new study hopes to make headway.
“We’ve known for years that Epstein-Barr virus is likely involved in triggering MS,” Dr Stacey said. “What we don’t fully understand is why only some people develop MS afterwards.”
Dr Stacey believes genetics might hold the key. The research team plans to calculate genetic risk scores for over 1000 South Australians who don’t have MS, then take a closer look at two groups: those with high genetic risk and those with low. By comparing the biology of these two groups, they hope to find early warning signs—before MS takes hold.
“If our theory is right,” Dr Stacey explained, “we might start to see patterns in the immune response to EBV in people who are genetically predisposed. That could give us early biomarkers for the disease.”
The methodology being used—recall by genotype (RbG)—is a relatively new tool in Australia. It involves calling participants back for further testing based on particular genetic traits rather than waiting for symptoms to appear. This makes it possible to zero in on biological differences that might otherwise be invisible in the general population.
Australia hasn’t had a strong infrastructure for RbG studies until recently, so the team’s work is also laying important groundwork for future research. This includes setting up protocols for how to recall participants and navigating sensitive questions about whether—and how—to share genetic risk information with those involved.
“This is where the ethics become complex,” Dr Stacey said. “If we spot someone at higher risk of MS, what do we tell them? And how do we manage that responsibly, especially if there’s nothing they can do yet to change the outcome?”
The project is expected to help shape national guidelines on how genetic information is handled in medical research, with broader implications for conditions beyond MS.
For now, the hope is that this work will lead to better diagnostic tools, more informed health strategies and perhaps one day, a way to prevent MS altogether.
It’s an ambitious goal. But for those affected by the disease—or worried they might be—any advance in early detection offers a measure of hope. And as Dr Stacey’s team begins its work, the broader research community will be watching closely.
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