Scientists Say Epstein-Barr Virus May Trigger Lupus Disease…

Groundbreaking research has identified a common childhood virus as a trigger for the autoimmune disease lupus.​
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), present in approximately 95% of the American population, can cause immune cells to attack the body’s own tissues.
The study’s senior author, Professor William Robinson, a professor of immunology and rheumatology at Stanford University, said, “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”
“I think it really sets the stage for a new generation of therapies that could fundamentally treat and thereby provide benefit to lupus patients,” he added.
The scientists used high-precision genetic sequencing to uncover differences in the number and type of B cells infected in 11 lupus patients compared with 10 healthy controls.
Fewer than 1 in 10,000 B cells in the control group hosted EBV, compared to approximately 1 in 400 in the lupus group, representing a 25-fold increase.

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