Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health have discovered that young people who had a strong immune response to the Epstein-Barr virus, the most common trigger of mononucleosis, are at double the risk for developing multiple sclerosis in adulthood.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, in which the immune system attacks the protective covering called myelin, around nerve cells. The result: The electrical impulses that run through the nerve cells can no longer send the correct message. Patients experience symptoms such as fatigue, partial paralysis, numbness and vision problems.
Recently, many groups have searched for specific viral causes. In the latest Harvard study by Dr. Alberto Ascherio, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology, 42 people with multiple sclerosis were identified through the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health plan. Twenty years ago, Kaiser scientists took blood samples from 100,000 clients. The agency also maintains extensive medical records from all patients in the system.
The Harvard scientists selected 84 people without multiple sclerosis to compare to those with the disease. They analyzed the blood samples for immune system markers, or antibodies, to the Epstein-Barr virus as well as antibodies to other viruses.
Patients with multiple sclerosis had a four-fold increase in antibody levels compared to people without the disease. People with these strong immune responses were at twice the risk of developing MS.
The study was published in the current Archives of Neurology. While there is no treatment for Epstein-Barr or way to prevent exposure, the finding may stimulate scientists to develop a vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus.
“This is another strong study that implicates Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis,” said Dr. Patricia Coyle, acting chairwoman of neurology at Stony Brook University Hospital and director of the hospital’s multiple sclerosis center. “It is almost as if the virus sets the stage for the development of multiple sclerosis.”
Neither Coyle nor Ascherio suspect the virus actually enters the brain. Instead, the strong immune response in genetically susceptible individuals could cross-react with brain substances, following the brain to attack its own myelin.
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