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- TL;DR Summary
- Infection of brain tissue by the Epstein-Barr virus is found to precede the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.
Statnews article:
https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/13/strong-new-evidence-suggests-virus-triggers-multiple-sclerosis/
Evidence from a colossal blood bank at Walter Reed Army Hospital allowed researchers to look over a long time span of samples for a huge number of US service men/women. The blood bank had multiple samples over time for every service man/woman starting when the person entered the military, usually in their late teens. Epstein-Barr infection was found to increase the subsequent rate of MS by a factor of 32. It often precedes the MS diagnosis by several years.
The article discusses changes in brain tissue that can be found in blood samples, and what changes occur with MS and show up in blood samples. They suggest that a vaccine against EBV would greatly reduce the incidence of MS.
https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/13/strong-new-evidence-suggests-virus-triggers-multiple-sclerosis/
Evidence from a colossal blood bank at Walter Reed Army Hospital allowed researchers to look over a long time span of samples for a huge number of US service men/women. The blood bank had multiple samples over time for every service man/woman starting when the person entered the military, usually in their late teens. Epstein-Barr infection was found to increase the subsequent rate of MS by a factor of 32. It often precedes the MS diagnosis by several years.
The article discusses changes in brain tissue that can be found in blood samples, and what changes occur with MS and show up in blood samples. They suggest that a vaccine against EBV would greatly reduce the incidence of MS.