Re: Re: REVIEW - Epstein-Barr virus in autoimmune diseases

[Guest guest]

Hi, Doreen.

EBV is contagious, but almost everyone by age 40 will have been

exposed to it. It's how the body responds to it that is in question.

It's also a chicken or egg quandary.

RA is a complex disease and isn't inherited in the common

parent-to-child sense; however, one probably has to be genetically

predisposed to develop it. And it's not just one gene, it's likely to

be several. Then environmental triggers (smoking, possibly EBV and/or

others) come along and cause trouble. In any one person, it may not be

the same group of genes or triggers.

It's useful to keep identical twins in mind. The concordance rate is

probably not higher than 20%. Thus, environmental factors are very

important.

Not an MD

On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 9:20 AM, Mimi <mimi212@...> wrote:

> Very interesting article, . I've had family members question where

> I could have gotten my RA from as they claimed they never knew of

> anyone else in the family that had that. BUT, my mother had EBV (among

> other things). I also read somewhere a long time ago that it is

> contagious. Do you know if they still say that?

>

> Thanks.....Doreen