Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection in adulthood is a well-established risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS), and new research indicates that human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) further increases the risk of developing the disease. Grut et al. tested serum samples from 670 presymptomatic individuals who subsequently developed MS and 670 matched control individuals. In participants over 24.9 years of age, coexistence of antibodies against the EBV protein EBNA1 and the HHV-6A protein IE1A was associated with a higher risk of MS than seropositivity for either antibody alone. The findings indicate an additive effect of the two viruses on MS risk, and the researchers postulate that HHV-6A infection could induce reactivation of EBV.

成年期的 Epstein-Barr 病毒 (EBV) 感染是多发性硬化症 (MS) 的一个公认的危险因素，新的研究表明，人类疱疹病毒 6A (HHV-6A) 进一步增加了患这种疾病的风险。格鲁特等人。测试了 670 名随后发展为多发性硬化症的症状前个体和 670 名匹配对照个体的血清样本。在 24.9 岁以上的参与者中，抗 EBV 蛋白 EBNA1 和 HHV-6A 蛋白 IE1A 的抗体共存与单独使用任一抗体的血清阳性风险相比，与更高的 MS 风险相关。研究结果表明，这两种病毒对多发性硬化症风险具有累加效应，研究人员推测 HHV-6A 感染可能会诱导 EBV 重新激活。