ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2009) -- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the pathogen that causes mononucleosis, appears to play a role in the neurodegeneration that occurs in persons with multiple sclerosis, researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Trieste, Italy, have shown.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that can cause major disability. There currently is no cure.
"This study is one of the first to provide evidence that a viral agent may be related to the severity of MS disease process, as measured by MRI," said Robert Zivadinov, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology in UB's Jacobs Neurological Institute (JNI) and first author on the study.
The research appears in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
"A growing body of experimental evidence indicates that past infection with EBV may play a role in MS," said Zivadinov, "but the relationship of EBV and the brain damage that can be seen on MRI scans had not been explored."
The Buffalo researchers measured total brain volume, as well as the decrease in gray matter, at baseline and three years later.
Results showed that higher levels of anti-EBV antibody measured at the beginning of the study were associated with an increased loss of gray matter and total brain volume over the three-year follow-up.
More at Science Daily (link above)
Posted by Sojourner (Member # 9424) on :
I don't think it explains anything. We know certain spirochetal illnesses are very immuno-suppressive (syphilis, Lyme). It makes sense to me that other bacteria and viruses could tag along and those more susceptible to these might have worse disease.
Given that anti-viral treatment has never worked to stop MS progression this work is suspect. Plus this quote really bugged me (no pun intended!!!)
"Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that can cause major disability" When did this become gospel????
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
buried on bottom of page 2; we have many ms/lyme patients here...
Posted by minoucat (Member # 5175) on :
Sojourner, we've seen already that antivirals are tremendously specific and mostly don't work on a wide range of viral infections -- I don't think the fact that antivirals haven't helped with MS indicates much.
Also, note that the research indicates that "PAST infection with EBV may play a role". We know that there are sequelae with other diseases, often appearing a long time after the symptoms of the original illness are past (think shingles and chicken pox).
Doesn't say that current infections aren't a problem too, or even that the patients studied didn't have an ongoing EBV infection (possibly undetected or undetectable by current standard testing).
The point I'd like to make is that it's possible that the viruses we often get along with LD -- for whatever reason -- may have long-term effects in the brain, and we musn't just focus on LD or even current viral infections in treating neurolyme.
This would also help us get past the IDSA BS insistance that all things Lyme-related are cleared up in a month.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
quoting minoucat
...The point I'd like to make is that it's possible that the viruses we often get along with LD -- for whatever reason --
may have long-term effects in the brain, and we musn't just focus on LD or even current viral infections in treating neurolyme.....
39 yrs. ago in jan. i was diagnosed with mono which later to learn just 4 yrs. ago that it was EBV too, and that too was the starting point of my LYME disease symptoms, etc.
i firmly believe it has long term effects of my brain! that's my story; and i'm sticking to it
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