Saturday, July 30, 2011 7:00 PM
|
Tony Miles
July 23rd, 2011 by kathibbetson
authors: Santón A, Cristóbal E, Aparicio M, Royuela A, Villar LM, Alvarez-Cermeño JC. source: Mult Scler. 2011 Jul 14. [Epub ahead of print] A paper was published this month which examines the hypothesis of a causal link between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and MS. It compares the frequencies of types 1 and 2 EBV and co-infections in both people with MS and healthy controls. Eostein Barr Virus There are two strains of Epstein Barr virus, labelled EBV-1 and EBV-2 (also known as type A and type B). However , although there are some differences, the acute illnesses caused by the 2 strains are apparently identical. Both strains are prevalent throughout the world and can simultaneously infect the same person. The common names for these infections are Glandular fever or herpes simplex ( cold sores and genital herpes) EBV was detected in 93% of the people with MS and 66% of controls. Interestingly, dual infection with strains 1 and 2 was seen in 90% of the group with MS but only 37% of controls (p<0.001) suggesting that co-infection with dual strains of EBV may be important. This study provides molecular evidence associating co-infection of type 1 and 2 EBV with MS.
|