title: Is there a case for a virus aetiology in multiple sclerosis?
abstract: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a devastating demyelinating disease with a very high prevalence in North-East Scotland and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. MS appears to be a multifactorial disorder with environmental and genetic elements and it has been proposed that these, in tandem, provoke an autoimmune response giving rise to the disease. Although there is no direct evidence of a specific virus being involved in MS, there are nevertheless grounds for suspecting a viral association. This review discusses these aspects of MS and suggests that a more aggressive approach to unravelling the role of viruses is needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, School of Biological & Medical Sciences, University of St. Andrews, Fife.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Souberbielle
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Szawlowski
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines