Lower risk of multiple sclerosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C: a nationwide population-based registry study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated neurological disease that causes demyelination. The etiology is unknown, but patients with a previous viral infection, such as Epstein-Barr virus, have been shown to be at a higher risk of developing MS. In contrast, people living with HIV have a lower risk of developing MS. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) mainly infects the liver, but patients with HCV can experience several extrahepatic manifestations and studies have shown an association with several autoimmune conditions such as neuropathy and myelitis. The present study aimed to investigate the risk of MS in patients with chronic HCV infection compared with matched comparators.

Methods

Patients were identified using the nationwide Swedish inpatient (2001-2013) and outpati

SUBMITTER: Soderholm J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6687702 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature