Is PMR hereditary?
Posted , 12 users are following.
I just found out my cousin who is 61 got diagnosed with PMR in her 20's or 30's (she couldn't remember exact age). I only got a chance to text with her for a minute because she has been very sick in the hospital with a yet to be diagnosed inflammatory and lung condition. She said she still gets flairs sometimes and has to go on prednisone occasionally. Since they are trying to figure out if I have PMR at the age of 49 could the be a familial trait going on.
0 likes, 15 replies
alley2 Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I reackon there must be some connection I have GCA 2 years ago at 53 my sister has an auto ammune poly something which affects her in the muscles she has had hers for near 4 years she has had a lot of illness with hers. And now I have pmr and fibromalgia diabeties 2 she got her auti desease when she was 53 also.
lynda62707 Snoopboxermidge
Posted
hi snoopboxer....when I was 1st dx'd with pmr I immediately Googled it. I remember one of the things I read was that often times pmr CAN be genetic! also more common in females and since I've got 2 daughters, I was very interested in finding out all that I could!
thus far, I'm the only one in our family to have this condition, but you never know!
EileenH Snoopboxermidge
Posted
There isn't a genetic "cause" as such in that there isn't a gene that can be identified as being associated with PMR/GCA in the way the HLA B27 is with certain forms of inflammatory arthritis and even if you have that gene it is not inevitable you will develop them - just that certain gene heritages are thought to make it more likely that you develop it. Being female, having a strong Scandinavian heritage, being the member of a family where there is a lot of autoimmune illness - all predisposing factors probably.
I wonder if they have thought of other forms of vasculitis - i.e it wasn't PMR as such but something else presenting as PMR originally. Especially since you seem to suggest she flares for short periods and then it goes away. and you say in her 20s/30s. With that age range, a mild degree of Takayashu's springs to mind.
karenjaninaz Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I asked the oldest(90) relative in my Estonian family branch and she could not name a single relative with any type of autoimmune disorder. I asked another elderly relative(90) in my Slovak family branch with the same negative result.
l seemed to have developed PMR after a near fatal illness. The initial manifestation was an intractable bilateral hip bursitis;this was made worse by physical therapy but helped by steroid injections. The rest is history.
mary19068 Snoopboxermidge
Posted
Hi Snoopboxer..
I can recall my mum having bilateral pain, but she never went to the doctor about it she just put up with it, she was about 60 years old at the time...
When i was diagnosed with PMR back in 2016 i wondered if it was hereditary remembering my mothers pain. As i've mentioned before i thought my pain was due to other things, but who knows? At the time i did some research and came upon some info., which did suggest it was hereditary and gave the gene. I have dug into my archive and found it..i am posting it to you. You may have to zoom in to read it... i'm sending separately not enough room on this reply😊👍
EileenH mary19068
Posted
Having a gene that is associated with a particular disease does not mean that a fault with that gene is the cause. DR4 is associated with a whole range of disorders - many of which are associated with inflammation and arthritic joint problems. What that gene means is you have an increased risk of developing something - but not which you may develop. It also seems to give some indication of the long term prognosis.
"DR4 is associated with extraarticular[2] rheumatoid arthritis,[3] hydralazine-induced female systemic lupus erythematosus,[4] pemphigoid gestationis,[5] pemphigus foliaceus,[6] obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,[7] IgA nephropathy,[8] 'shared syndrome'-systemic sclerosis/rheumatoid arthritis[9] and polymyalgia rheumatica.[10]"
Given the selection - I think I'm glad that if I have the gene it chose to manifest as PMR!!!
lynda62707 mary19068
Posted
thank you Mare....I KNEW I'd read the hereditary component of pmr!!!
just goes to show, we ALL have little bits of pertinent information!
....and the beat goes on🎶🎶🎵
mary19068 EileenH
Posted
Hi EileenH
I got most that info that you just gave me from the article i sent to Snoopboxer...the point i am making is PMR could be genetically inherited as the info stated. The same as the HLA B27 gene for Ankolysing Spondylitis can be the gene for various Inflammatory Arthritis et al....
EileenH mary19068
Posted
Yes - but the point I am making is that this isn't a heritable disease - like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy - where having the gene causes the problem but having the gene makes it an inherited susceptibility, an increased risk of developing it as a result of many other factors that have an effect on the immune system.
mary19068 EileenH
Posted
Hi EileenH
Yes, but qualified experts in the field of genetics and autoimmune diseases say that there is a possibility that PMR could be a genetically linked.....i'm just stating what i have read on the subject in a response to Snoopboxer...
mary19068 Snoopboxermidge
Posted
Danrower Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I love hanging out with people smarter than me. some of these posts require understandings I don't have.
I have had nuisance auto-immune difficulties my entire life: eczema, vitiligo, osteo, PMR, etc.
Methinks auto-immune disorders school, and some, like me, are blessed or cursed with these issues.
I like to simplify to understand.
Life is heredity.
And absent environmental influences (and triggers), I've always thought auto-immune disorders were also rooted in genetic inclinations.
Good Topic!
Anhaga Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I think there is a genetic predisposition to these autoimmune diseases as I have several first cousins, the children of my mother's sister. One of this family was adopted. Of the four children who are my aunt's blood relations every one has something which can be attributed to autoimmune disorderliness, like me, who am an only child. The adopted son has no such problem.
ptolemy Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I had always heard it was twenty five per cent genetic and seventy five per cent environmental. I had a rheumy who reckoned it was catching!
faye05942 Snoopboxermidge
Posted
I'm new to this forum, being first diagnosed with PMR, which was then changed to RA. I do not have anybody in my family with either PMR or RA.. No history in my ancestors except for osteo....I think maybe environmental factors have some bearing in there diseases, my husband is convinced I caught it somewhere, which makes me laugh. I'm currently on 6.5mg of pred. and 30mg of MTX, I am reducing the pred at a rate on .5mg a week. I am progressing well with it, but I have good days and bad days...my specialist is very pleased with my rapid progress.