A virus similar to herpes could be a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (Epstein-Barr)

At present, while there is no cause known for this condition, patients with MS seem to have genetic vulnerability to certain environmental factors that could trigger this condition, such as the Epstein-Barr virus. Scientists at the University of Granada have found a relation between the Epstein-Barr virus –which belongs to the herpesviruses family–and the development of this condition

The Epstein-Barr (EVB) virus –belonging to the herpesviruses family, which also includes the herpes simplex virus and the cytomegalovirus– is one of the environmental factors that might cause multiple sclerosis, a condition affecting the central nervous system, which causes are unknown. This has been confirmed by University of Granada scientists that analyzed the presence of this virus in patients with multiple sclerosis. Researchers analyzed antibody levels, that is, antibodies that are produced within the central nervous system and that could be directly involved in the development of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating condition affecting the central nervous system. Although the cause for this condition is unknown, patients with MS seem to have genetic vulnerability to certain environmental factors that could trigger this condition.

While other studies have tried to ellucidate whether infection with the Epstein-Barr virus could be considered a risk factor in multiple sclerosis, what University of Granada researchers did was conducting a meta-analysis of observational studies including cases and controls, aimed at establishing such association.

The study found that adding the effects of sunlight exposure and mononucleosis together explained 72 percent of the variance in the occurrence of MS across the United Kingdom. Sunlight exposure alone accounted for 61 percent of the variance.

“It's possible that vitamin D deficiency may lead to an abnormal response to the Epstein-Barr virus,” Ebers said.

He noted that low sunlight exposure in the spring was most strongly associated with MS risk. “Lower levels of UVB in the spring season correspond with peak risk of MS by birth month. More research should be done on whether increasing UVB exposure or using vitamin D supplements and possible treatments or vaccines for the Epstein-Barr virus could lead to fewer cases of MS.”

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/aaon-scv041211.php

“Epstein-Barr infection is marked by a period of active infection and replication – the lytic stage – where it causes acute disease, but it can also remain latent, and later emerge as an effective cancer-causing agent,” said Kazuko Nishikura, Ph.D., a professor in Wistar’s Gene Expression and Regulation program and senior author of the study. “It is a strategy that allows EBV to survive our initial immune response and await conditions, such as weakened immunity, to reemerge.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 95 percent of Americans are infected with EBV. While only a small portion of these infections ever lead to cancer, EBV has been associated with diseases that include cancers such as Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and a form of sinus and throat cancer called nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

“Our findings suggest that EBV and humans have been engaged in a complex microRNA arms race, where EBV evolved microRNA that specifically exploit the human host cell's own microRNA machinery,” Nishikura said.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/twi-mdt102510.php

We still have many years until there is an effective vaccine
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=ebv+vaccine

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