Investigating the Relative Frequency of Infection with Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 in the Serum of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis via Using Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). It is an Auto immune disease whose cause is still unknown though some factors can be named as its cause such as genetics, geographic element and viral agents. HSV is among the infection agents that may be involved in pathogenesis of MS. The aim of this study was to use a new technique called loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect presence of Herpes Simplex Virus in patients harboring Multiple Sclerosis as well as in healthy individuals in the control group. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional analytical study in which 50 multiple sclerosis patients and 50 healthy controls were included. The infection with herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 was investigated by the new technique of LAMP. Results: The sensitivity of this technique was 5 particle viruses and its specificity for HSV was 100%. Within the 50 patients with multiple sclerosis, 11 samples revealed positive results for HSV (22%), while in the control group no infection with herpes simplex virus was found (0%). Conclusion: This study indicates that the LAMP technique owns high sensitivity and specificity for detection of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 in serum of patients with multiple sclerosis as well as the control group.