Is the rubeola virus responsible for causing multiple sclerosis (MS)?

The obvious question in early research was, "If the rubeola virus could cause subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), could it cause multiple sclerosis (MS)?" The plot thickened in 1962, when Adams and Imagawa reported that antibodies against the measles virus were present in the spinal fluid of more than 75 percent of MS patients and absent in the control group. More than thirty other studies confirmed these findings.

The age factor added one more interesting dimension. In three case-controlled surveys, the MS group had a history of measles at an older age (eleven to fifteen) than the general population. This is particularly intriguing since those who acquired SSPE had measles before age two.

As may be imagined, measles has been studied and studied, but unfortunately, MS researchers have only been able to show a circumstantial association. Other reports threw a monkey wrench into the theory. Scientists reported at least four people with MS with no history of measles and no antimeasles antibody.

Scientists looking further into the MS-measles connection hit another dead end when they saw that MS lesions had little resemblance to the damage done by measles in SSPE. Finally, they learned through autopsy studies that although the measles virus is found in the brains of those with SSPE, it has never been found in the brains of MS patients. For these and other reasons, the measles theory eventually fell by the wayside.

But for those who still believe that some relationship exists between MS and measles, there will be a definite answer soon enough. An entire generation of American children has now been vaccinated against rubeola. These children will soon be coming of MS age, and if rubeola is the cause, a dramatic decline and even eradication of MS in the United States should take place very shortly.

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