Coronaviruses and multiple sclerosis.

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the human central nervous system (CNS) without known cause. A popular theory proposes that an exogenous stimulus initiates an immune response against self CNS proteins, possibly myelin structural protein(s). However, damage to the CNS as the result of an immune response to a chronic low grade CNS infection has never been ruled out. Therefore, demyelinating lesions in MS may represent the final direct or indirect immunopathological reaction to an infectious agent(s). Supporting this hypothesis are epidemiologic studies that strongly implicate an environmental factor in the development of MS (1). Particularly compelling is the MS epidemic in the Faroe Islands (2) and the recent study of offspring to immigrants to the United Kingdom from low incidence countries developing MS at rates similar to the indigenous English population (3).KeywordsMultiple SclerosisMultiple Sclerosis PatientHuman Central Nervous SystemHuman CoronavirusHuman Brain CellThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.