title: Evidence linking HHV-6 with multiple sclerosis: an update.
abstract: Following reports of elevated antiviral antibodies in MS patient sera and viral DNA detection in MS plaques nearly two decades ago, the neurovirology community has actively explored how herpesviruses such as HHV-6 might be involved in MS disease pathogenesis. Though findings across the field are non-uniform, an emerging consensus of viral correlates with disease course and evidence of HHV-6-specific immune responses in the CNS provide compelling evidence for a role, direct or indirect, of this virus in MS. Ultimately, the only way to demonstrate the involvement, or lack thereof, of HHV-6 or other herpesviruses in this disease is through a controlled clinical trial of an efficacious antiviral drug.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Institute for Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences of The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Leibovitch
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: jacobsons@ninds.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobson
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*