New Australian research has found a link between glandular fever and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Posted July 22, 2011

MS affects 20,000 people in Australia and is a condition where the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord.

Many of those diagnosed are young, healthy women.

Now a new study from the Australian National University (ANU) has found those who have glandular fever antibodies have a much greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

The research, published in the journal Neurology, could lead to new treatments for the condition.

ANU Associate Professor Robyn Lucas studied 300 patients with MS and 500 healthy participants.

She also found a strong relationship between those who had MS and genetic changes relating to the immune system.

Professor Lucas says the findings are consistent with other studies showing an association between markers of past episodes of glandular fever and MS risk.

“We have shown further interaction with other immune system genes in the HLA class 1 region and CLTA-4,” she said.

Professor Lucas says the Australian work is promising.

“It starts to bring together the different risk factors that we know are involved in MS. It points us in the right direction for further research to prevent and cure MS,” she said.

The research was part of the Ausimmune study, a major study looking at the possible environmental triggers for multiple sclerosis.

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