This week we have a blog from Dr Yakup Kilic, our very own co-founder and Urgent and Emergency Editor, who gives us a fascinating insight into new research on multiple sclerosis (MS).
What?
A study of nearly 2.5 million people published in October 2021 found that those diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus during childhood were nearly twice as likely to develop MS. For people diagnosed with the virus during adolescence, the risk of MS was three times higher.
The Ebstein-Barr virus (EBV), also known as ‘the kissing disease’, is one of the most common viral infections affecting humans. It has links to a number of medical conditions, including certain types of cancer. This ground-breaking research has indicated that there may be a link between EBV and developing MS in later life.
Multiple sclerosis is a condition that affects your brain and spinal cord. It is a lifelong condition which can be managed by specialist treatment but is not curable. As time goes on, patients with MS experience symptoms like blurred vision and weakness in their arms and legs as the coating that protects the nervous system is attacked, breaking it down. More than 130,000 people in the UK have MS, and its cause is still unknown.
Why?
Different studies have shown that although 95% of the general population may have had EBV once in their lifetime, the percentage is closer to 100% among those who have MS. This may mean there is a relationship between MS and EBV.
The study suggests that the immune systems of patients who have been exposed to EBV create antibodies (proteins that fight off infections) that ‘overreact’ and could lead to conditions that cause the body to attack itself (e.g. autoimmune diseases such as MS).
How (does it affect you)?
This study won’t result in immediate effects on patient care, or the lives of those living with MS. The study’s main value is the suggestion of a link between EBV infection and the development of MS in later life. Many of us will have had EBV during our life without knowing it – it’s a common infection that often only results in mild illness. However, not all of us will develop MS. There is still work to be done to find out why a certain proportion of people who have had EBV go on to develop MS.
This new finding helps to improve our understanding of autoimmune diseases such as MS. This may help to shape research in the future, and bring in new preventative treatments for MS. For example, if an effective EBV vaccine is developed, this may in turn prevent MS. Identifying patients with EBV could also help to predict those patients who are at higher risk of developing MS. Further studies will look into the genetic differences that make EBV lead to MS, and this could lead to gene therapy techniques to treat it. The future is bright!
You can read the study from Dr Yin Xu et al here.
As always, best wishes from myHSN
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