Viral infections trigger multiple sclerosis relapses: a prospective seroepidemiological study

Abstract

A neurological surveillance was combined with prospective recording of upper respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and serological diagnosis of five common viral infections in 60 benign multiple sclerosis patients, with a mean follow-up of 31 months. During 4-week at risk (AR) periods encompassing common infections, a significant excess of MS relapses was found in the AR period, with a relative risk of 1.3. A seasonal variation of the MS relapse rate was found with a minimum in summer. There was a significant correlation between the number of AR relapses and the number of common infections per month explaining the periannual distribution of relapses. The non-AR relapses showed no seasonal variation. There was a significant correlation between adenovirus CF titre rises associated with upper respiratory infections and the occurrence of a major MS relapse in the AR period (n = 7), while influenza infections were not followed by a major MS relapse (n = 6). Linear homologies have been demonstrated between adenovirus and basic myelin protein. The epidemiological approach is essential to our understanding of systemic antigens triggering multiple sclerosis activity.