Multiple sclerosis and viruses.
Discussing the problem of multiple sclerosis and viruses should not be limited to reviewing the epidemiological evidence in favor, or against, a particular candidate, such as Epstein-Barr virus or human herpes virus 6. In this text, I discuss the difficulty of going from association to causation in human epidemiology; the fact that viruses can trigger or prevent autoimmunity; the problem of our very limited knowledge of the viruses that we harbor as part of our metagenome; and the role of such viral flora in multifactorial diseases and also, possibly, in health.
Brahic
Michel
M
Department of Microbiology Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 299 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. mbrahic@stanford.edu
D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D006801:Humans; D054892:Metagenome; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*