الفهرس 
Multiple SclerosisOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune mediated inflammatory disease that attacks myelinated axons in the central nervous system (CNS), destroying the myelin and the axon in variable degrees. The aetiology and pathogenesis of MS is complex and multifactorial, involving many interlacing mechanisms. Many theories had considered viral infections as a possible cause of MS. One of these viruses is Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpes virus belonging to the family herpesviridae. There is obvious similarity between EBV and MS regarding their epidemiological pictures, and it was observed that most MS patients had a history of infectious mononucleosis (IM) a few years before onset. The relation between EBV and MS may give hope for development of biomarkers for prediction of disease development, early diagnosis, prediction of prognosis, curing or even preventing MS through an anti EBV vaccine or antiviral therapies.
Objectives: This study aims to analyze the association between EBV infection and multiple sclerosis.
Subjects and Methods: This is a case control study carried in the MS outpatient clinic at Cairo University Hospitals during the period from April 2019 till November 2019. Subjects included in this study were classified into two groups. The first group included 30 patients diagnosed as having MS, on the basis of their MRI finding , clinical presentation and according to revised Mc Donald criteria 2017. The patient group included 11 males and 19 females, their age ranged from 18 to 48 years. The second group included 30 age and sex matched healthy controls without any neurological or medical diseases. The control group included 11 males and 19 females, their age ranged from 18 to 48 years. Both groups were tested quantitatively for immunoglobulin G against Epstein Barr viral capsid antigen (VCA) using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique.
Results: All patients with MS (100%) were positive for EBV VCA IgG, whereas (93.33%) of controls were positive. In the MS group, the EBV VCA IgG mean level was (161± 66.32) U/ ml compared with (78.53±47.63) U/ ml in controls. The difference in serum level of EBV VCA IgG between both groups was statistically highly significant (P= < 0.001).
Conclusion: There was higher levels of EBV VCA IgG in the serum of MS patients compared to healthy controls. This finding postulates a relation between EBV infection and MS and its role in the pathogenesis of MS.