Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of Adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), HHV-6 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) nucleic acids in the gastrointestinal biopsies from active CD patients.
Methods: Gastrointestinal biopsies of 40 active CD patients and 40 non-CD patients were collected during the endoscopic investigation of gastrointestinal symptoms.
Results: HHV-6B was found in 62.5% of CD patients and in 65% of non-CD individuals, whereas the prevalence of EBV-positive samples was 20 and 10%, respectively. Nucleic acids from HHV-6A, CMV and adenovirus were not detected in any group.
Conclusion: These data suggest that these viruses may not play a role in the pathogenesis of acute CD, but they do not exclude the possibility that viruses can act as a trigger for the onset of celiac disease.
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