Two weeks ago our MS Reading group looked at the recent papers confirming the link between Epstein Barr Virus and MS. Next month we’re going to be exploring this link in more detail, focusing in on how COVID affects MS, specifically in terms of its interaction with EBV.

Obviously this is a very new area and the research is tentative at best, focusing at least as much on the interaction of COVID with a range of viruses as well as EBV. So far I’ve only looked at the abstract, but if there is a silver lining from the pandemic, then it does appear to be sparking some interesting research and potential avenues for therapy.

The papers we’re going to be looking at next month are:

Multiple Sclerosis and SARS-CoV-2: Has the Interplay Started?, Bellucci, G et al
The Potential Role of COVID-19 in the Pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis—A Preliminary Report, Satheesh, N et al

Viral infections and their relationship to neurological disorders, Wouk J, et al.

The MS Trust has been fantastic in helping us to identify papers we might want to explore. If you’re interested in the longer list of papers they suggested, you’ll find them here.