[Association between Multiple Sclerosis or Neuromyelitis Optica and Epstein-Barr Virus].

Accumulated evidence shows an association between Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) infection and multiple sclerosis (MS). In particular, EBV infections before the onset of MS, particularly in childhood, is associated with the pathogenesis of MS. Meanwhile, the association between neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and infectious agents has been reported, but is currently unclear. Recently we studied the association between NMO and EBV and compared between MS and EBV. The results showed that MS is associated with past infections of EBV as the results of previous studies. In contrast, NMO is associated with the reactivation of EBV.