If You Had Mono, Your MS Risk Is 32 Times Higher
Many adults don’t even know they’ve had it.
If you ever had mono, you carry EBV (Epstein-Barr virus). Compared with someone who has never been infected, the risk of developing multiple sclerosis is about 32 times higher.
A study published in Science in 2022 tracked over 10 million U.S. military members across two decades. Among people who developed MS, 97% contracted Epstein-Barr virus before their diagnosis. The researchers concluded EBV infection is a leading cause of multiple sclerosis.
The standard MS treatment strategy still focuses on suppressing the immune response, not eliminating EBV.
New research published this year in Science Translational Medicine is explaining the mechanism. The findings raise a question medicine has been slow to ask: if EBV helps drive MS, why isn’t the treatment targeting the virus?
In the full version you’ll get:
Why the most common MS drugs work for a reason most doctors never mention
The first major trial testing whether an EBV-targeted treatment reduces MS disease activity, and who qualifies
What I’d do if I had a family history of MS
Potential ways to keep EBV reactivation at bay
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