Virus Antibody Titers in Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Siblings, and Controls

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Abstract
Virus antibody titers of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were higher than titers of carefully matched controls for measles, type C influenza, herpes simplex, parainfluenza 3, mumps, and varicella-zoster, and not consistently higher than titers of controls for adenovirus, parainfluenza 2 and 3, and types A and B influenza. Virus antibody titers among MS patients were not higher for any of these agents than were titers of their siblings of the same sex born within three years of the patient, suggesting a familial effect on these responses. The study population consisted of 97 MS patients selected by two neurologists from among 500 patients screened, 47 siblings, and 64 controls. The observed pattern can be interpreted as indicating that viruses and immune responses play a role in the etiology of MS, but that we are probably dealing tangentially with the problem.

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