Yesterday, the New England Journal of Medicine published the findings of the The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium that may result in new treatments for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). About 2.5 million people worldwide have MS, a disabling, progressive neurological disease that may ultimately result in paralysis.

In this breakthrough study, researchers linked three genes to MS and implicated that a dozen more may be involved as well. Amazingly, this is apparently the first major genetic discovery related to MS in about 30 years.

Interestingly, this dramatic research was made possible due to several major research teams worldwide that pooled their data for analysis and publication. This type of collaborative and coordinated research and analysis will likely be the standard for major biomedical research going forward. The Internet no doubt played a role in facilitating this collaborative research and will continue to do so to an even greater extent in the future.

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