Multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus and progressive disability of multiple sclerosis

Retrovirus-like particles containing the multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus
RNA, significantly found in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple
sclerosis, have been preliminarily associated with a short-term poor clinical and
radiological prognosis of the disease. We asked whether these prognostic
indications are still measurable after a long-term clinical evaluation (10
years). Our 10-year blind observational study confirms that the presence of
multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus in the cerebrospinal fluid of early
multiple sclerosis patients is associated with a significantly greater rate of
relapse-unrelated unremitting disability and secondary progression of the
disease.