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Falling down the biological rabbit hole: Epstein-Barr virus, biography, and multiple sclerosis
Horwitz, Ralph I. Hayes-Conroy, Allison Singer, Burton H. Cullen, Mark R. Badal, Kimberly Sim, Ida
Horwitz, Ralph I.
Hayes-Conroy, Allison
Singer, Burton H.
Cullen, Mark R.
Badal, Kimberly
Sim, Ida
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Journal article
Date
2022-09-01
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Cardiovascular Sciences
Geography and Urban Studies
Geography and Urban Studies
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https://doi.org/10.1172/jci164141
Abstract
A recent research report in Science by Bjornevik et al. tested the hypothesis that multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a cohort of more than ten million adults on active duty in the US military during a 20-year period (1993–2013) (1). The authors reported that individuals who had prior EBV infection were 24 times more likely to develop MS than noninfected persons. The findings appear to confirm a longstanding suspicion linking EBV to MS and led many to call for an EBV vaccine to prevent MS. A closer examination of the article, however, indicates the analysis was incomplete and misrepresents the data. In fact, a strong association between EBV and MS was present only for those with recent infection occurring during active-duty military service.
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American Society for Clinical Investigation
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The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Vol. 132, No. 17
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