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Ménière's disease and antibody reactivity to herpes simplex virus type 1 polypeptides
T Bergström1, S Edström, A Tjellström
1Department of Clinical Virology, University of Göteborg, Sahlgrens Hospital, Sweden.
Purpose:
It has been reported that the inner ear is capable of responding to antigen challenge. In this study, we have investigated the antibody reactivity to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) proteins in sera from patients with Ménière's disease.
Patients And Materials:
Serum from 21 patients scheduled to undergo endolymphatic sac decompression for Ménière's disease was obtained. The sera from 21 age- and sex-matched individuals without a history of ear disease served as the control. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect antibodies to HSV-1, HSV-2 cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and measles virus. Immunoblotting was used to confirm and further evaluate the HSV-1 antibody response.
Results:
All but one patient had antibodies to HSV-1. ELISA mean log titers were significantly lower in the patient group to CMV and VZV when compared with controls. A pattern of generally higher antibody reactivity in patients with Ménière's disease was demonstrated to the individual SDS-PAGE HSV-1 polypeptides as judged by immunoblotting.
Conclusion:
The HSV-1 antibody response found in patients with Ménière's disease may indicate viral reactivation and denotes the importance of further studies on the role of infectious agents in this disease.