Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and often disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord. Canada has one of the highest rates of MS worldwide and more than 17,000 people in British Columbia are living with the condition. Research has shown that people who go on to develop MS often use healthcare services more than a decade before diagnosis, suggesting a long “prodromal” phase when the disease is already developing but not yet recognized. At present, clinicians cannot reliably identify who is at risk during this early window or understand the biological drivers behind these early warning signs.

The GENESIS‑MS project, led by Dr. Helen Tremlett at the University of British Columbia, aims to uncover early warning signs of MS by linking inherited genetic risk with patterns of healthcare use before diagnosis. By combining genetic information with routinely collected health data, the team seeks to better understand who is most at risk of MS and why early changes appear years before symptoms begin.

The study will analyze DNA from 1,411 participants in the BC Generations Project, including people with MS, people with a family history of MS and individuals without MS. Researchers will calculate polygenic scores, which summarize many small genetic risk factors into a single measure, and link these scores to long‑term health records held in Health Data Platform BC. This approach allows the team to examine how genetic risk relates to doctor visits and prescription use up to 10 years before MS symptoms appear.

By identifying genetic and healthcare patterns that signal the MS prodrome, this research could support earlier recognition of MS in British Columbia. In the long term, the findings have the potential to inform targeted prevention strategies, improve timely treatment and reduce the personal and healthcare system impacts of MS.