Recent findings that 100% of lupus (autoimmune disease) cases can be linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), could trigger new treatment for lupus and speed up a vaccine for EBV, which has also been linked to other autoimmune diseases, notes MedicalBrief.
The common childhood virus appears to be the trigger for the autoimmune disease, according a to US scientists, whose study suggests that EBV, which for most people is harmless, can cause immune cells to “go rogue” and mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues.
Professor William Robinson (Immunology and Rheumatology) at Stanford University and the study’s senior author commented: “I think it really sets the stage for a new generation of therapies that could fundamentally treat and thereby provide benefit to lupus patients.”