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Multiple sclerosis and viruses
Author(s) -
Brahic Michel
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.22057
Subject(s) - multiple sclerosis , epidemiology , human virome , causation , metagenomics , virus , virology , biology , immunology , medicine , epistemology , genetics , gene , pathology , philosophy
Discussing the problem of multiple sclerosis and viruses should not be limited to reviewing the epidemiological evidence in favor, or against, a particular candidate, such as Epstein‐Barr virus or human herpes virus 6. In this text, I discuss the difficulty of going from association to causation in human epidemiology; the fact that viruses can trigger or prevent autoimmunity; the problem of our very limited knowledge of the viruses that we harbor as part of our metagenome; and the role of such viral flora in multifactorial diseases and also, possibly, in health. ANN NEUROL 2010;68:6–8