A decade-long study confirms the presence of multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus in people with secondary-progressive MS.
Italian researchers recruited 39 untreated people with MS for a blind observational study in 1999. Patients were tested for MS-associated retrovirus in their cerebral spinal fluid.
MSRV proteins may trigger an abnormal immune response, influencing the inflammatory processes characteristic in MS. While the study has not demonstrated that MSRV causes MS, it could be a way of identifying potential worsening outcomes.
Source: MS Research Australia
