If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  Common Virus May Be Linked To Lupus OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- December 16, 1997 -- A group of scientists from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) report today in the The Journal of Clinical Investigation that systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) may be caused by a common virus. The work being reported raises suspicion that a common virus, known as Epstein-Barr virus, may be a culprit in lupus disease. This virus is already known to cause mononucleosis, as well as some cancers. "Our work shows a powerful association of Epstein-Barr virus infection with lupus in children and teenagers, we do not yet know whether this association will be found in older adults," said John Harley, M.D., Ph.D., associate member of the OMRF, professor of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and at the Veterans Medical Center. "While we have different kinds of evidence, all of which point toward an important role of Epstein-Barr virus in lupus, we do not have proof that this virus causes lupus. Our work is consistent with this possibility, however." Systemic lupus erythematosus, a serious autoimmune disorder, is life threatening in some cases, while in others, the disease seldom interferes with daily activities. Symptoms range from skin rashes and sensitivity to the sun to internal organ involvement, sometimes including nervous system problems. "If a cause of lupus can be established, then our thinking and approach to the disease will also be fundamentally changed," said Judith James, M.D, Ph.D., the lead author on the lupus study. "If it is Epstein-Barr virus, then the continued infection by this virus may be needed to initiate or sustain the disease process." If it is eventually shown that Epstein-Barr virus does not cause lupus, then lupus patients must be extraordinarily susceptible to the virus, which is also an important discovery. "Drs. James and Harley's paper is a major step in our understanding of the etiology of one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the world and presents powerful evidence for an association between infection with E-B virus at an early age and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus," said Dr. J. Donald Capra, Before the scientific community will accept an association between lupus and Epstein-Barr virus, the findings must be confirmed by other scientists. It may be a year or more before such work could be completed. "Now that our results are published, many scientists will try to test predictions of the idea that this virus is important and others will do many different kinds of experiments in an attempt to prove that our interpretation is wrong," Dr. Harley said. "We will be watching for the outcome of their experiments with great interest, as will the hundreds of thousands of lupus patients, their families, friends and doctors." Would an effective vaccine against the virus prevent this disease in future generations? Would drugs designed to treat the virus be useful in treating lupus? Would treatments designed to change the immune response against the virus help in lupus? These and many more questions have arisen from the OMRF work and will keep lupus researchers very busy for years to come. "Before these kinds of possibilities can be explored seriously, it is required that other scientists confirm what we have found and that additional evidence be collected which also shows that this virus is probably the agent responsible for the disease," Dr. James said.
|
