Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Mult Scler. 2013 Mar;19(3):362-5. doi: 10.1177/1352458512451942. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
Several lines of evidence support a role for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). This includes the observation that nearly all MS patients show serological markers of past EBV infection. Given the well-known association between MS prevalence and latitude, we investigated whether EBV seropositivity also increases with distance from the equator. We found that the proportion of EBV positive individuals is positively associated with latitude independently of MS status (odds ratio = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02-1.09, p = 0.002). Latitude-related factors may be implicated in the immune response to EBV and its role in MS aetiology.
有几条证据表明，Epstein-Barr 病毒（EBV）在多发性硬化症（MS）的发病机制中起作用。这包括观察到几乎所有 MS 患者都显示出过去 EBV 感染的血清学标志物。鉴于 MS 患病率与纬度之间的已知关联，我们研究了 EBV 血清阳性率是否也随距离赤道的增加而增加。我们发现，EBV 阳性个体的比例与纬度呈正相关，与 MS 状态无关（比值比=1.06，95%置信区间=1.02-1.09，p=0.002）。与纬度相关的因素可能与 EBV 的免疫反应及其在 MS 发病机制中的作用有关。
