Last year the Editorial Board of MS in focus made an important decision to dedicate an issue of the magazine to genetics. Genes and MS is a complicated topic and is relevant for many people with MS and their families.
Although the complete story of the role of genetics in MS is still unfolding, researchers have made a great deal of progress over the last several years. That progress is presented here, in a format that should answer fundamental questions about MS, genes and genetic factors.
In compiling this issue, we have involved some of the world’s most renowned MS genetic scientists. They have collaborated to provide a complete picture of what we know and where current knowledge is leading us in this field. Given this, we hope you will appreciate that it was no small feat to combine such expertise from major research groups worldwide. In fact, this is the first time that such a combination of expertise has been achieved!
Professor Alastair Compston, from the University of Cambridge, actively participated in helping us put together this issue of MS in focus, and we sincerely thank him for assisting us in clarifying the questions we wanted to answer, as well as in identifying the experts who we have invited to contribute. Without Professor Compston’s collaboration, we would never have been able to take on such a complex task. Further, on behalf of the Editorial Board, I would like to thank the contributors, who, despite their many commitments, agreed to be part of this very important issue of the magazine.
Finally, we appreciate the topic of genes and MS is an extremely complex one, and thus, have provided a glossary on page 27, in order to assist readers to digest the information. We hope you find this helpful.

Michele Messmer Uccelli
Editor