Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common, complex disorder. Associations of MS with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection in Caucasian populations are well documented. However, in the Iranian population, previous studies have been conflicting. Sixty patients with MS and 50 healthy controls were tested for anti-EBV antibodies using chemiluminescent assays. All MS patients to be seropositive for EBV as compared to 82 % of controls (p = 0.0006). A strong, significant association of MS with EBV infection was documented, similar to studies in first world populations. Future studies should investigate the temporal sequence of infection to try to understand the cause of the recent increase in MS risk in Iran.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). We thank all MS patients and healthy individuals for participating in our study.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Ethical standard
This case control study has been performed in accordance to the statue of the ethics committee of the affiliated Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS).
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Informed consent obtained from all individuals participants included in this study.
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Karampoor, S., Zahednasab, H., Pirkouh, A.A. et al. Serostatus of Epstein–Barr virus in Iranian MS patients. Acta Neurol Belg 116, 43–46 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-015-0496-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-015-0496-y