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Multiple Sclerosis Research Paper

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the nerve and nerve fibers of the central nervous system (Ringold, Lynm, & Glass, 2006). It results in the loss and damage of myelin, the insulator of nerve fibers, thus affecting the conduction of nerve signals within the brain and spinal cord. This damage to the central nervous system (CNS) leads to an impairment in sensory, cognitive, and motor functions of the body. The cause of multiple sclerosis is still unknown, however, it is known that environmental, genetic, and viral factors play a role in the spread and diagnosis of this disease. This essay will examine the likelihood of the Epstein-Barr virus as an indicator to the development of multiple sclerosis.
Epstein-BarrVirus …show more content…

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) causes an immunogenic infection of B lymphocytes and the expansion of T-cells. Not only has EBV infected over 90% of the population in western societies (Alotaibi, Kennedy, Tellier, Stephens, & Banwell, 2004), it’s damage seems to remain long after EBV’s primary infection (Ascherio et al., 2001). If the infected T-cells carry receptors that recognize and attack that body’s own self-peptides, autoimmunity could result, such autoimmunity that commonly characterizes multiple …show more content…

The acquisition of an infectious agent like EBV is more likely to occur during a specific window of weak immunologic functioning such as childhood (Alotaibi et al., 2004). The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at such a young age further emphasizes the similar environmental and genetic factors that it shares with EBV.
A study conducted by Alotaibi et al. (2004) compared the serological evidence of EBV in children with MS and their healthy peers without MS. Of the children with MS, data showed that 83% traced some sort of remote EBV infection. Whereas, the control group of healthy children showed only 42% of present EBV antibodies. The data further showed that there was no correlation to MS when tested for other virus’ such as parvovirus B19, cytomegalovirus, and varicella zoster. This evidence supports the genetic etiology of multiple sclerosis. During childhood and adolescence, 50% of individuals contract an EBV infection, and 5% of these individuals go on to develop multiple sclerosis. Although these numbers may seem minuscule, the majority of children with MS show a prior exposure to EBV, compared to their healthy peers who have yet been exposed to the

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