Epstein-Barr and Multiple Sclerosis: New Research
 

Researchers have released new findings that support a connect between multiple sclerosis and the Epstein-Barr virus. What is interesting (and what researcher Alberto Ascherio at Harvard discovered) is that, in a sample of 305 members of the armed services who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, 100% of them were infected with the Epstein-Barr virus before diagnosis (compared to 30% of over 600 other service members whose blood was examined and were similar to the 305 in age and other factors (though they had not been diagnosed with MS).

http://ms.about.com/b/2009/05/25/eps...earch.htm?nl=1

Alberto Ascherio has done numerous studies on MS and EBV. From what I have read he can't make up his mind if there is a correlation or not :rolleyes:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content...ct/289/12/1533

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3703746

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/j...TRY=1&SRETRY=0

http://archneur.highwire.org/cgi/con...tract/63/6/839

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3703706

I wonder about those of us who have not had the EBV or the antibodies but still have MS and those who have had EBV but not MS.

Remember, 95 percent of the population has had EB but 95 percent of the population does not have MS.

Although I do not discount EBV I also believe there is more going on.

If you google Alberto Ascherio you will find he looks at different risks for MS - smoking, Hepatitis B Vaccination, EBV, Vitamin D.

It looks like there are more questions than answers which has been the case for a long time.

I honestly don't think that they'll ever find one cause of MS. Everybody has a different chemical makeup so the cause for anyone's MS is as individual as they are.

I think we all have some similarities in our backgrounds but I think that's where it ends.

Kitty, I so appreciate your commitment to animals :hug: I click and vote daily;) I am monthly committed to the ASPCA and Humane Society (they also help children). My 2 babies-75lb and 60lb pup sisters turned 10 last Mar have certainly helped me stay happy and less stressed :)
Linda

I've never had Epstein-Barr, unless its one of those viruses you can have without knowing, and I've never had Mono. I agree with Kitty that there are probably lots of causes. I think there has to be the perfect mixture of things (viruses, environment, whatever) to make MS happen. I also believe that MS is probably a dozen different diseases that we don't know about yet. But I'm confident that we'll have some answers to something in the next decade or so--causes, hopefully.

You can have mono and not know it.

I knew when I had mono, there was no ignoring it. Sickest I've ever been in my life.

I also had shingles around the same time as the mono. I've been wondering if the mono and the shingles conspired together to give me the MS. I do think there is a genetic component to it. One of my dad's 2nd cousins has MS. (she got it the same week her brother became a quadraplegic while diving into a lake. She was paralyzed for awhile same as her brother. At least she recovered from hers for the most part from what I've been told. Too bad her brother couldnt too)

Well, I would have had to have EBV at a very early age since I have had MS symptoms since I was young.

You can definitely be infected with EBV and never know it. I've tested positive for the bug, and I never had mono. In many cases, EBV infection is asymptomatic, or can be mistaken for cold or flu.

This is not the first study to show universal EBV infection in MS patients. Prevailing thought is that all MS patients are infected with EBV. My own neurologist, a major researcher here in New York City, told me this several years ago. This study bears out his claim.

When my sister was a junior in high school she had the worst case of mono I have ever seen. She was even hopitalized for it. Anyway, I am 3 years younger than her. We shared a room, a bed and were not very careful about sharing glasses, silverware, etc. She now has chronic fatigue and I have MS. It makes me think how funny it is we both may have been infected by the same virus and reacted totally differently.

Maybe we should be study subjects.

I am aware you can have EBV and not know it.

I had urinary retention starting at the age of four w/repeated UTIs to the point of using antibiotics monthly. MS or another cause? No doctor (Urologist) knew why I had retention problems and repeated cathing never made a difference.

There were other signs of MS in early childhood.

I had 2 1/2 feet of intestines removed when I was 2 years old. There were no nerves in that section. This is called Hurshbrungs(sp) disease.
I have always found it rather ironic that I have a neurological disease and yet had a disease where there were no nerves where there was supposed to be.

I don't discount EBV or any virus as a trigger for MS. I am just skeptical EBV was the trigger for my MS.