Detection of Varicella Zoster Virus in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and its Comparison with a Control Group by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is one of the chronic diseases of the central nervous system. This disease appears more among young adults and women. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is regarded as a multifactorial disease. One principal and significant probability is that viruses may stimulate the immune system and lead to the occurrence of MS in the persons who are susceptible to the disease. The purpose of the execution of this study is to detect varicella zoster virus (VZV) in the patients afflicted with multiple sclerosis and its comparison with a control group. Blood samples from 83 MS patients and 100 healthy individuals were collected from Northern areas of Iran. DNA extraction was executed from blood by the kit and according to the instruction of the company. In order to make sure of the accuracy of the extracted DNA, the amplification of human beta-globin gene was used. Specific primers produced by TAG Copenhagen (Denmark) were used to amplify the viruses’ gene. At the end, chi-square(x2) statistical test was used to study the frequency of these viruses in the samples of MS patients and the control group and their relationship with each other. The findings of this study showed that 21 individuals (25%) of patients with MS and 9 individuals (9%) of the control group were positive to VZV virus. Statistical analysis represents a significant relationship between frequency of VZV and MS. The role of viral infections including VZV in the affliction with MS has been confirmed for about a decade. A number of studies have been succeeded in identification of genome of this virus in MS patients, but still more researches are required to perceive the relationship between viral infections and MS disease.