Epstein-Barr virus

When the immune system launches an attack to fight off infection with the Epstein-Barr virus, immune cells can accidentally end up targeting a protein called CRYAB that’s normally expressed by healthy myelin-making cells in the brain, a study found. The findings provide further evidence that molecular similarities between distinct…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: EBV vaccine trial could start in 2024 The MS News Today story “Vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus…

EBViously announced that it has developed a candidate vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus and plans to bring it into clinical trials starting in 2024. The company is a spinoff of Helmholtz Munich, part of a German government research network. It is led by scientists with expertise in EBV…

A new collaboration between ModeX Therapeutics and Merck, known as MSD outside North America, is expected to advance the development of ModeX’s MDX-2201, an investigational vaccine targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A history of infection with EBV — known for causing infectious mononucleosis, or mono, and certain…

A history of infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been shown to be a strong risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) — but is targeting the virus a viable strategy for MS prevention or treatment? This question was the subject of a debate, “How To…

Lawrence Steinman, MD, a professor of neurology who is leading the development of Pasithea Therapeutics‘ PAS002 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has received the 2023 Pioneer in Medicine Award. The prize is given by the Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics (SBMT) and the World Brain…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Is cost a factor when deciding DMT use? Cost may be the elephant in the room when people with MS are…

Tevogen Bio has announced plans to develop T-cell therapies targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpes virus known to be a major environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). The decision comes on the heels of positive safety data from a proof-of-concept Phase 1 Tevogen trial that…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s happening: Understanding stem cell therapy Researchers in Zurich wanted to understand what happens to the immune system of a person with MS undergoing a…

Scientists have identified a number of antibodies that can bind to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — a major risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) — and prevent its infection of human cells. The antibodies might offer new approaches to treat or prevent infection in groups of people most…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Brandon Beaber, MD, to answer some of your questions about research into the causes of multiple sclerosis (MS). Beaber is a board-certified neurologist and MS specialist. He makes videos about MS on YouTube and…

A National Multiple Sclerosis Society grant is supporting an Australian-led research team aiming to better understand how the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may be acting as a trigger for multiple sclerosis (MS). The funding will particularly be used to understand what molecules are being targeted by lymphocytes, immune cells that…

Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week. Two of them came out of this year’s Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Ocrevus treatment More than 250,000 people with MS have been treated with the…

An infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) consistently preceded elevations in neurofilament light chain (NfL), an early biomarker of nerve cell damage, in people who went on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. An increase in NfL levels, which is thought to occur before the clinical…

Note: This column has been updated Oct. 18, 2022, to correct the name of the cholesterol medicine the columnist uses to Pravachol.  Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week: Low cholesterol and aggressive MS progression The story “Low Cholesterol May Reflect More…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are significantly more likely to have antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — the strongest risk factor for the disease — than healthy individuals, as well as higher levels of these antibodies, according to a Spanish study. All MS patients were positive for anti-EBV…

NexImmune is working with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to develop cell therapies for people with immunological disorders associated with certain viral infections, namely the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). A history of infection with EBV — mostly…

T-cells Targeting Epstein-Barr Virus at High Levels in MS Patients The evidence of a link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS) continues to mount. The current thinking is that the immune responses that fight EBV may drive the attacks against the myelin nerve coating, which is…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have significantly more T-cells equipped with receptors that specifically recognize the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) than do healthy individuals, a study revealed. Notably, no such differences were detected for T-cells with receptors specifically against other viruses. These findings add to previous data highlighting EBV infection…

Epstein-Barr Virus and MS Risk: New Link to Mono Found in Study Add this study to the mounting evidence that there’s some type of association between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — the virus associated with mononucleosis — and multiple sclerosis. I’ve never had mono, but several people with…

People who had infectious mononucleosis — a contagious disease for which the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the leading cause — had a higher incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the 10 years following diagnosis compared with individuals not diagnosed with the virus, a study found. This link was particularly…

An independent committee of experts has recommended that the Phase 2 portion of the EMBOLD clinical trial continue as planned without a sample size adjustment, following an analysis of safety and effectiveness data. The trial is testing Atara Biotherapeutics‘ experimental medication ATA188 in progressive forms of multiple…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is joining the search for a vaccine to attack the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This is a big deal for people with multiple sclerosis, because carrying the virus is thought to play a significant role in the development of MS. In fact,…

The Australian government has announced that a record AU$18 million (about $13.5 million) from the Medical Research Future Fund will be used to support research into multiple sclerosis (MS) as part of its 2022–23 budget. Grant opportunities will focus on increasing access to clinical trials and speeding the development of effective…

No Link Between Herpes Infection and MS Risk in Genetic Study This is interesting because the Epstein-Barr virus is a member of the herpes family, and recently, a major study indicated a link between Epstein-Barr and MS. Yet, the study reported here concludes there is no link between herpes…

Infection with the herpes simplex virus does not increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis based on genetic data. The study, “Mendelian Randomization Analysis Suggests No Associations of Herpes Simplex Virus Infections With Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in Frontiers in…

COVID-19 Booster May Benefit Patients on Anti-CD20 Therapy After multiple reports of how Gilenya and anti-CD20 MS medications reduce the efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, here’s more evidence that a booster shot may improve that protection. The researchers report “modestly increased levels” of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after a third…

Tevogen Bio is planning to make use of its virus-fighting immune cell technology and turn it against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common virus thought to greatly increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). The technology employs off-the-shelf cytotoxic T-cells — a type of white blood cell that can…

Similarities between an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein and a brain protein called GlialCAM may explain why EBV infection increases the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), results from a new study show. Due to the structural resemblance of the two proteins, B-cells — a type of immune cell that is critical…

You may have heard about the research that’s just been published about the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study reports that being infected by EBV raises the risk of developing MS by 32 times. This isn’t a small or…