title: Absence of entero- and cardioviral RNA in multiple sclerosis brain tissue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Epidemiological evidence suggests that an infectious agent may be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Picornaviruses are possible candidates for an etiological agent, because of their neurotropic properties and ability to cause chronic infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Autopsy brain tissue from 25 patients with clinically definite MS and 33 control patients without inflammatory neurological disease was tested with reverse transcription PCR specific for enteroviruses and cardioviruses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All specimens were found negative.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results do not support the theory of a persisting entero- or cardioviral infection as the cause of Ms as we found no evidence of the presence of entero- or cardioviral genomes in the brains from MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Herlev University Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Dessau
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Frederiksen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D017943:Cardiovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004770:Enterovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral