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Bob... Thanks for posting the information 'bout MS and its not-possible tested-for-virus origin. I guess for some of us - if not all of us - it's tough living with this steeeeenkin' PD and not even being able to point a finger it's CAUSE. So we grasp at straws while hoping and praying that one of those purported causes is THE cause. I guess the theory is once we find THE cause, we'll have a place to start looking for THE cure. <Sigh< That oh-so-elusive cure.... <'nother sigh> Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Robert A. Fink, M. D. <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Friday, February 11, 2000 7:48 PM Subject: Viruses and MS/Parkinson's A week or so ago, there was a series of postings (I think that Ivan was the main poster) about the possible relationship between viruses and the cause of Parkinson's disease. This logic was also extended to multiple sclerosis by others, and the Human Herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) was mentioned prominently. At the time, I urged caution regarding some sweeping comments which were being made on this List regarding this material. I asked my Medical Library to access some articles on the issue, and I found an excellent Guest Editorial, which appeared in the Journal of NeuroVirology (1998) 4, 471-473. The Editorial is entitled, "Association of human herpesvirus-6 and multiple sclerosis: here we go again?", and the author is Dr. Steven Jacobson, Chief of the Viral Immunology Section, National Institutes of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, in Bethesda, Maryland. Table 1 reports the huge number of viruses which have been implicated in the past concerning multiple sclerosis. These include: Rabies 1946, 1964 Herpes simplex 1964 Scrapie agent 1965 "Multiple sclerosis associated agent" 1962 Parainfluenza 1 1972 Measles 1972 Simian virus 5 1978 Canine distemper virus 1978 Chimpanzee cytomegalovirus 1979 Coronovirus 1980 SMON-like virus 1982 Tick-borne encephalitis 1982 HTLV-I 1986 LM7, MSRV (retrovirus) 1989, 1997 HSV-I 1989 MS1533 (retrovirus) 1994 HHV-6 1993, 1995 None of these agents have been proven as a cause of multiple sclerosis or PD. The last paragraph of the article reads: The search for a viral etiology in MS has led investigators in many directions for so many years. As presented in this editorial, extreme caution must be exercised in the interpretations of virus-associations and neurologic disease. Will a single viral agent ever be shown to be involved in MS or will multiple viral 'triggers' be associated with disease? If a virus is known to be ubiquitous, how can definitive proof of cause and the effect be established? In the absence of such proof, can anti-viral therapeutic strategies be rationally applied in MS clinical trials? [there is even less association with PD and thus even less indication for such therapeutic trials]. Would the failure of such a trial rule out a virus association? There and many other questions remain unaswered. Investigations to confirm or refute virus association in MS undoubtedly will lead us into new areas of neurovirological research where information is being acquired at an expanding rate..... The entire article should be available at good medical libraries. Best, Bob ********************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C. 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 Telephone: 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557 WWW: http://www.dovecom.com/rafink/ mailto:[log in to unmask] "Ex Tristitia Virtus" *********************************************