[New evidence of the antigenic relation between the viruses of epidemic neuropathy and the human nervous system. A study of the immune cellular response in patients with epidemic neuropathy and controls. A review of the topic].

A series of experiments was made at the Virology Department of the "Pedro Kourí" Institute of Tropical Medicine aimed at obtaining new evidences on the possible antigenic relations existing between the viruses isolated from patients with epidemic neuropathy and the structures of the human nervous system. According to the results it may be finally inferred that the persistence and/or autoimmunity may be considered as mechanisms through which the studied viruses participate in the etiopathogenesis of the epidemic neuropathy in Cuba. For future experiments it is very important to identify the possible viral epitopes involved in the molecular mimicry that are responsible for the probable autoimmune mechanisms or for the viral persistence.

Duke Scholars

Author Thomas Norton Denny Medicine, Duke Human Vaccine Institute