The activity of the Epstein-Barr virus in the body syncs up to relapses in patients with RRMS.

In a new study published on April 11, investigators in Italy found that, in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the immune response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) appeared to cycle simultaneously with their disease activity, meaning that when the virus was active, so was their MS.

The study, conducted by investigators at the Santa Lucia Foundation in Rome, Italy examined cytotoxic (CD8+) T-cells, which are cells that kill infected or abnormal cells in the body. They found an increased response to the antigens produced by active EBV in the blood of MS patients during relapses, as compared with samples taken during periods of remission. Antigens are substances that the body sees as foreign or harmful—including toxins from viruses like Epstein-Barr—and deploys an immune response to find and kill.

EBV is a member of the herpesvirus family and, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), nearly 95 percent of all people between the ages of 35 and 40 have been infected by it. EBV is responsible for the viral infection known as mononucleosis (or “mono”). EBV only results in mono in 35 to 50 percent of patients, while others never show any outward signs that they've been infected.

Although the symptoms of mono, which include a fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands, eventually go away, EBV takes up a permanent residence in certain cells in the immune system where it lies dormant for years.

For people who suffer from RRMS, the cycles of disease activity can be as varied and irregular as the symptoms they produce. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. The immune system attacks the myelin, or protective covering, of nerve cells in the brain, causing electrical “shorts” in the signaling pathways.

This can result in symptoms ranging from mild numbness to blindness or complete paralysis. In the relapsing-remitting form of MS, these attacks can last from a few days to several months. The flare-ups are followed by periods of remission where there is a lessening of disease
The role of EBV as a potential trigger for multiple sclerosis has long been debated. Whether it—or any virus—directly causes the disease or creates a “perfect storm” situation whereby the immune system, in trying to eradicate the virus, goes haywire and mistakes myelin proteins as the enemy, is unclear.

According to Dr. Steven Jacobson, Chief of the Viral Immunology Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it's important to note that "While EBV may be one of the triggers in MS...what triggers reactivation in one person may not in another." He told Healthline that MS is not a disease with a single, defined, viral trigger like AIDS, for example, which is triggered by the HIV virus.

So can we take a survey on this site to see how many of us were diagnosed with EBV (mono) earlier in our lives....????
I certainly had it for 6 long weeks....:(

Wow Jcc Thank you for posting this That was great information on EB virus and MS Thanks again I had it but it never turned into full blown mono or at least that's what they told me I am not clear on whether if you have the virus if it is full mono or not but I would bet it is!

I also had mono when I was 11. I was diagnosed when I was 19.

There is a book out now called Medical Medium (I ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive). It suggests EBV has 4 stages. Mono is one of them. (I also had mono) (I also would like to see a survey). It suggests all autoimmune diseases are the final stage. It also suggests they can be cured with a diet.