title: Broad screening for human herpesviridae DNA in multiple sclerosis cerebrospinal fluid and serum.
abstract: Members of the human herpesviridae family are candidates for representing the macroenvironmental factors associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. Real-time PCR was used to search for DNA of herpes simplex virus type-1/-2, varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus 6 type A/B in paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples from 54 patients with MS, 34 of whom with active disease, 10 patients with other non-infectious neurological diseases, and 15 healthy individuals. All the CSF and serum samples were negative for the examined herpesviruses DNA, except one CSF sample from an MS patient, which was positive for EBV DNA. These findings do not support a role for the here-studied herpesviruses replication, whether in systemic or in the intrathecal compartment, as co-pathogenetic factors, nor as inducers of relapses, in MS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, IRCCS, Foundation "Neurological Institute C. Mondino", Pavia, Italy. diego.franciotta@mondino.it
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franciotta
authors.forename: Arabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bestetti
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perucca
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarius
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Anna Luisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Di Stefano
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cinque
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral