Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 375, Issue 6578, Pages 296-+Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.abj8222
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (NIH) [NS046635, NS042194, NS103891]
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society [PP-1912-35234]
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [CO 2129/1-1]
- NIH Directors Early Independence Award [DP5-OD028145]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study suggests that multiple sclerosis may be caused by Epstein-Barr virus, with no direct association with other viral infections. These findings provide clues to the primary cause of MS.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system of unknown etiology. We tested the hypothesis that MS is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a cohort comprising more than 10 million young adults on active duty in the US military, 955 of whom were diagnosed with MS during their period of service. Risk of MS increased 32-fold after infection with EBV but was not increased after infection with other viruses, including the similarly transmitted cytomegalovirus. Serum levels of neurofilament light chain, a biomarker of neuroaxonal degeneration, increased only after EBV seroconversion. These findings cannot be explained by any known risk factor for MS and suggest EBV as the leading cause of MS.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available
Share Paper
