Asymptomatic Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Causes an Earlier Onset and More Severe Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an increasingly prevalent progressive autoimmune and debilitating chronic disease that involves the detrimental recognition of central nervous system (CNS) antigens by the immune system. Although significant progress has been made in the last decades on the biology of MS and the identification of novel therapies to treat its symptoms, the etiology of this disease remains unknown. However, recent studies have suggested that viral infections may contribute to disease onset.