Mono

Just curious. Is there a connection between mono and ms?  I had mono when I was 16 and was dx with ms at 44.  

[Lulu54]

Mono is linked to the Epstein Barr virus,  EBV, which is suspected to have  a link somehow with MS but isn't exactly known.

If I'm remembering right, almost all MS patients test positive for EBV - someone out there please correct me if I'm wrong.  

Lu

[HVAC]

This gets kicked around every few years. The truth is 98% of the worlds population has had mono. Usually they had it as children and thought it was the flu. Possibly it is one of the triggers for MS, possibly MS make us more likely to have worse cases.

I have MS since age 2 and have had bad cases of Mono many times including after diagnosis. I think it is a chicken or egg thing.

Alex

[Sailorsong]

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also called human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is a virus of the herpes family, which includes herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, and is one of the most common viruses in humans. It is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis. It is also associated with particular forms of cancer, particularly Hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and central nervous system lymphomas associated with HIV.[1] Finally, there is evidence that infection with the virus is associated with a higher risk of certain autoimmune diseases, especially dermatomyositis[citation needed], systemic lupus erythematosus,[2][3] rheumatoid arthritis,[3] Sjögren's syndrome,[3] and multiple sclerosis.[4]

Most people become infected with EBV and gain adaptive immunity. In the United States, about half of all five-year-olds and 90–95% of adults have evidence of previous infection. Infants become susceptible to EBV as soon as maternal antibody protection disappears. Many children become infected with EBV, and these infections usually cause no symptoms or are indistinguishable from the other mild, brief illnesses of childhood. In the United States and in other developed countries, many people are not infected with EBV in their childhood years. When infection with EBV occurs during adolescence or teenage years, it causes infectious mononucleosis 35% to 69% of the time.

Dennis

[Lulu54]

hi Dennis, can you give us the source for this - it's got a lot of great information in there.  thx.

[Sailorsong]

I got that from Wikipedia.

Dennis

[Pfurs]

Thanks for the info

[jujuminx]

Idk about the correlation but I had mono when I was 14 and dx with ms at 48.

Julie

[jen673]

I was just reading about this the other day and thought "Wow" I had mono at age 14.  Could be a relation there - just maybe!  I was just diagnosed and I'm almost 38.  

[Starryeyes2]

Just chiming in..I too had Mono at age 16, diagnosed with MS at age 37.

Kristi

[MissLauraI]

Also chiming in- I had mono at 16 and am suspected for MS- still waiting for a dx. Interesting possible correlation.

[kerrtelli]

I had epstein bare when I was 23 and al waiting on diagnosisrw

[Guitar_grrrl]

Had Mono at age 28, diagnosed with MS at age 50 (after some 20+ years of symptoms).

[essdipity]

The thing is, almost everyone is infected with the EBV. In most people, no big deal--we're infected with a lot of things that also cause no harm.

But some people get mono from it. There is evidence (don't have the citations) that more of those people who get mono in their teens and early twenties later are diagnosed with MS than would be expected in a random sample of the population at large.

This is not cause and effect. It's just an interesting fact that scientists are pursuing, along with many other possible contributors to the causes of MS.

It is like saying, 'I'm of Northern European heritage, female, and have a sister with MS.' Just all parts of the puzzle.

By the way, there are plenty of people with MS who have never had mono. I'm one of them.

ess

[katie4242]

I too had mono when I was 18, and was diagnosed with MS in November at 35.  Interesting!

Katie