Analysing nearly 500,000 people's data from the UK Biobank, scientists from the University of Pavia, Italy, have determined that the risk of multiple sclerosis is significantly higher in people who carry a specific variant of the HLA gene and who, in the past, have had infectious mononucleosis as a result of an Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Publishing their findings in the European Journal of Neurology, the scientists said: 'Understanding this interaction could offer new insights into the gene-environment mechanisms underlying multiple sclerosis development and help identify individuals at higher risk based on HLA genotypes and infectious mononucleosis history.'

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