Viruses under suspicion
The virus used in the study is found only in mice, but it's closely related to the Epstein-Barr virus that causes mononucleosis in humans. About 75 percent of people over 30 carry this virus, Speck says. Another family member is thought to cause Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer most commonly seen in AIDS patients. The extremely common herpesvirus simplex 1, the cause of cold sores, is a more distant relative. "These viruses are now legitimate candidates for initiating human vascular disease," Virgin says. "It's a possibility that deserves further investigation."
Despite repeated efforts, researchers have never been able to prove or disprove the hypothesis that viruses trigger human vascular disease. A middle-aged person with atherosclerosis will have been exposed to hundreds of viruses, making it very difficult to link the vascular disease to a particular infection, Virgin says. Until someone catches a virus in the act of damaging a human artery, most researchers will remain skeptical that it can ever happen. Knowing which viruses to look for will aid the search tremendously, he says.
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Note: For more information, refer to K.E. Weck, et.al., "Murine g-herpesvirus 68 causes Severe Large- vessel Arteritis in Mice Lacking Interferon-g Responsiveness: A New Model for Virus-induced Vascular Disease," Nature Medicine, Vol. 3 (12) pp. 1346-1353, December 1997.0
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Contact: Linda Sage
sage@medicine.wustl.edu
314-286-0119
Washington University in St. Louis
1-Mar-1998