Is Epstein-Barr Virus a trigger for MS?
Professor Michael Pender, Director of the Neuroimmunology Research Centre at Queensland University continues to generate groundbreaking research investigating whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections trigger the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in genetically susceptible people. EBV is the culprit for glandular fever and in the western world approximately 95% of adults are infected with the virus. EBV has the unique ability to infect, activate and persist without detection in important cells of the immune system. Evidence indicates that MS is due to an attack on the brain by white blood cells and antibodies, cells of the immune system which defend the body against infectious diseases. No one knows why this immune attack on a person’s own tissue is not switched off in people with MS but EBV is now being seen as a likely suspect. Professor Pender has come up with a novel hypothesis which could finally explain the EBV link. He proposes that EBV infects large numbers of antibody-p
