Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. We aimed to assess the frequency of EBV-specific IgG and IgM oligoclonal bands (OCB) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 50 patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and in 27 controls with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Furthermore, we assessed correlations between the presence of OCB and CIS patients' CSF, MRI, and clinical variables. There was no difference in the proportion of CIS and GB patients with positivity for anti-EBV-specific IgG/IgM OCB. There were no correlations between OCB and analyzed variables, nor were they predictive of a higher disability at 3 years.
Keywords: Clinically isolated syndrome; Epstein-Barr virus; Multiple sclerosis; Oligoclonal IgG bands; Oligoclonal IgM bands.