Sotelo Julio, Corona Teresa
Neuroimmunology Unit, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico, Insurgentes Sur 3877, Mexico City 14269, Mexico.
Mult Scler Int. 2011;2011:214763. doi: 10.1155/2011/214763. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disorder; however, little is known about the triggering factors of the abnormal immune response. Different viruses from the herpes family have been mentioned as potential participants. Here, we review the evidences that support the association of varicella zoster virus (VZV) with MS. Epidemiological studies from geographical areas, where incidence of MS has increased in recent decades, pointed out a high frequency of varicella and zoster in the clinical antecedents of MS patients, and also laboratory investigations have found large quantities of DNA from VZV in leucocytes and cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients restricted to the ephemeral period of MS relapse, followed by disappearance of the virus during remission. The above observations and the peculiar features of VZV, mainly characterized by its neurotropism and long periods of latency followed by viral reactivation, support the idea on the participation of VZV in the etiology of MS. However, as with reports from studies with other viruses, particularly Epstein Barr virus, conflicting results on confirmatory studies about the presence of viral gene products in brain tissue indicate the need for further research on the potential participation of VZV in the etiology of MS.
多发性硬化症（MS）是一种免疫介导的疾病；然而，对于异常免疫反应的触发因素知之甚少。来自疱疹家族的不同病毒已被提及为潜在参与者。在此，我们回顾支持水痘带状疱疹病毒（VZV）与MS关联的证据。来自近几十年来MS发病率上升的地理区域的流行病学研究指出，MS患者的临床病史中水痘和带状疱疹的发生率很高，并且实验室研究还发现，MS患者白细胞和脑脊液中存在大量来自VZV的DNA，这些DNA仅限于MS复发的短暂时期，随后在缓解期病毒消失。上述观察结果以及VZV的独特特征，主要表现为其嗜神经性和长时间潜伏期后病毒再激活，支持了VZV参与MS病因的观点。然而，与其他病毒（尤其是爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒）研究的报告一样，关于脑组织中病毒基因产物存在的验证性研究结果相互矛盾，这表明需要进一步研究VZV在MS病因中的潜在参与情况。
