Epstein-Barr Virus May Trigger MS
Elevated Antibodies Could Predict Disease
April 10, 2006 -- Young adults with high levels of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus appear to be at increased risk for developing multiple sclerosis later in life, new research suggests.
The findings add to the evidence implicating the common virus as a possible trigger for multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves), which affects some 400,000 Americans.
Almost everyone is exposed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by the time they reach adulthood. Infection early in childhood is common and usually does not cause severe illness, but infection that occurs in adolescence often leads to mononucleosis.
Researchers have searched for decades for a viral or bacterial agent that may trigger multiple sclerosis in people who are genetically susceptible. Epidemiology professor Alberto Ascherio, MD, and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston have published several studies suggesting that Epstein-Barr virus may be that agent.
"Collectively, the results of this and the previous studies provide compelling evidence that infection with EBV is a risk factor in the development of MS," Ascherio says.
'An Important Step'
For their latest study, the researchers were granted access to 100,000 blood specimens collected between 1965 and 1974 from members of the health plan Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The health plan also maintained its members' medical records in electronic databases.
A search of these records revealed that 42 people who provided blood specimens three and four decades prior to the study developed multiple sclerosis. Researchers compared these blood samples with samples from people who did not develop MS but had similar characteristics to those who did.
The samples from people who developed MS tended to have much higher levels of EBV-fighting antibodies. Measuring antibodies, which are proteins produced by the body to fight specific infections, is one way to determine the intensity of infection.
Most of the samples showed evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection, but the analysis showed that a fourfold increase in antibodies was associated with a doubling of MS risk.
The findings were published today in an online edition of the June Archives of Neurology.
"MS is a disease that requires multiple steps, and it appears that infection with EBV is an important step," Ascherio tells WebMD.