56: Epstein-Barr Virus's Relationship With Multiple Sclerosis

Welcome to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments™ podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in neurology sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with Bridget A. Bagert, MD, MPH, director, Ochsner Multiple Sclerosis Center, and an investigator in the clinical study of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-targeted agent, ATA188 (Atara Biotherapeutics). She offered her perspective on the recent data from Ascherio et al on the relationship between EBV and multiple sclerosis (MS) that suggest it may be a root cause of the disease, as well as background on the decades of research that have led to this point and the potential of therapies that target EBV and the B cells it infects for patients with MS. Episode Breakdown: 1:25 – Background and historical data on EBV and MS 5:15 – The role B cells play in MS and EBV infection 10:20 – The current understanding of EBV as a cause of MS 14:20 – Neurology News Minute 18:05 – Immediate research needs in this area 21:00 – The clinical community’s view of this relationship 23:45 – ATA188 as an EBV-targeted approach to MS 30:00 – Closing thoughts Want to learn more about EBV and MS? Click here to register for free for an in-depth NeurologyLive®panel discussion including Scott Newsome, DO (moderator); Alberto Ascherio, DPh, MD; Anne Cross, MD; Avindra Nath, MD; and Michael Racke, MD. The stories featured in this week's Neurology News Minute, which will give you quick updates on the following developments in neurology, are further detailed here: Roche Designing New Phase 2 Trial of Tominersen in Huntington Disease Risdiplam Gets Priority Review for Presymptomatic SMA in Babies Under 2 Months Diverse Enrollment, Primary End Point Announced for Phase 4 ENVISION Study of Aducanumab Thanks for listening to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments™ podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more neurology news and expert-driven content, visit neurologylive.com. REFERENCES 1. Bar-Or A, Pender MP, Hodgkinson SJ, et al. Updated open-label extension clinical data and new magnetization transfer ratio imaging data from a Phase I study of ATA188, an off-the-shelf, allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus-targeted T-cell immunotherapy for progressive multiple sclerosis. Presented at ECTRIMS Congress; October 13-15, 2021; Poster P638. 2. Bjornevik K, Cortese M, Healy BC, et al. Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis. Science. Published online January 13, 2022. doi:10.1126/science.abj8222