Virus associated with Secondary Progressive MS

A 10 year blind observational study confirms the presence of MS-associated retrovirus in People with Secondary Progressive MS(SPMS).

In 1999 Italian researchers recruited 39 untreated People with MS. These patients were tested for Multiple Sclerosis-associated retrovirus (MSRV) in their cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). MSRV proteins may trigger an abnormal immune response influencing the inflammatory processes characteristic in MS.

The study aimed to determine whether or not the presence of MSRV in the CSF at the beginning of the disease is a predictor of conversion to SPMS. SPMS is the conversion from relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) to an unremitting stage of the disease with accumulating progressive disability.

During the study, 42% of the patients with MSRV in the study with RRMS converted into SPMS compared with none of the patients without MSRV at the time they were enrolled in the study. Other independent studies in patients with and without MS have been repeated and confirmed MSRV is associated with worsening clinical progression when detected in the CSF of People with MS.

While the study has not demonstrated that MSRV causes MS, it could serve as a ‘biomarker’ to flag potential worsening outcomes and may influence the treatment management considered by People with MS and their Neurologists.

Reference:

Sotgiu S, Arru G, Mameli G, Serra C, Pugliatti M, Rosati G, Dolei A. Multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus in early multiple sclerosis: a six-year follow-up of a Sardinian cohort. Mult Scler. 2006 Dec;12(6):698-703.