-
Categories
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
-
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
-
Food Additives
- Industrial Coatings
- Agrochemicals
- Dyes and Pigments
- Surfactant
- Flavors and Fragrances
- Chemical Reagents
- Catalyst and Auxiliary
- Natural Products
- Inorganic Chemistry
-
Organic Chemistry
-
Biochemical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
-
Cosmetic Ingredient
- Water Treatment Chemical
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
Promotion
ECHEMI Mall
Wholesale
Weekly Price
Exhibition
News
-
Trade Service
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nearly 3 million people worldwide, and its cause remains unclear despite decades of research
.
Now, a study published today (January 13) in the journal Science supports the claim that one of the main suspicions - Epstein-Barr virus (a common cause of mononucleosis) - can also cause MS
The research team examined the association between Epstein-Barr virus infection and MS by analyzing serum samples and medical data collected from a cohort of more than 10 million U.
S.
military members and found that EBV infection caused them The odds of an MS diagnosis increased more than 32-fold
.
No increased likelihood of other viral infections was found
"This is the first study to provide convincing evidence of causation," Harvard epidemiologist Alberto Ascherio, lead author of the study, told the Harvard Gazette.
"This is a big step forward, as it shows that most cases of MS can be prevented by blocking EBV infection, and targeting EBV may lead to the discovery of MS treatments," he added
.
Multiple sclerosis is characterized by scarring of the brain, the result of chronic autoimmune inflammation that leads to demyelination of neurons
.
Exactly what triggers the immune system to mount this self-directed attack remains unclear, although the virus has been the potential culprit for decades
Conclusions linking Epstein Barr to multiple sclerosis are especially challenging because of the different timing of onset of the two diseases: EBV infection usually occurs in childhood or adolescence, about before the onset of multiple sclerosis symptoms.
ten years
The team was able to use the temporal resolution of the repository to dig deeper into the timing of EBV infection and MS development
.
In addition to linking the MS diagnosis to previous EBV infection, the team also found elevated serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL)
"Not only were the soldiers not diagnosed with MS at the start of the study, but their NfL levels were also negligible,"
Some experts remain skeptical, including Ms.
Anthony Reder, a multiple sclerosis expert, who was not involved in the work, suggesting to The New York Times that the immune response to the virus, rather than the virus itself, could ultimately be the culprit
Another thing that remains to be explained is why MS is so rare given how common EBV infection is
.
About 95% of adults are infected with the virus, but less than 0.
5% of MS are infected
Still, Michael David Kornberg, a multiple sclerosis expert at Johns Hopkins University, told The Times, "It's really the most convincing thing we have about cause and effect.
data
