Blog Archive

Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Chickenpox and multiple sclerosis: A Mendelian randomization study

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader

Abstract

Background

Observational studies have suggested a suspected association between varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection and multiple sclerosis (MS), but the connection has remained unclear. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the causal relationship between chickenpox which is caused by VZV infection and MS.

Methods

We performed a two‑sample Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate the association of chickenpox with MS using summary statistics from genome‑wide association studies (GWAS). The GWAS summary statistics data for chickenpox was from the 23andMe cohort including 107,769 cases and 15,982 controls. A large summary of statistical data from the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (IMSGC) was used as the outcome GWAS data set, including 14,802 MS cases and 26,703 controls.

Results

We found evidence of a significant association between genetically predicted chickenpox and risk of MS (odds ratio [OR] = 35.27 , 95% confidence interval [CI] = 22.97–54.17, P = 1.46E-59).

Conclusions

Our findings provided evidence indicating a causal effect of chickenpox on MS. Further elucidations of this association and underlying mechanisms are needed for identifying feasible interventions to promote MS prevention.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

View on Web

No comments:

Post a Comment