Measles and central nervous system disease

This ia a summary and review of the Workshop, which points out that there is sufficient evidence to relate SSPE to a measles virus. This evidence is both direct-virus isolation- and indirect-immunological data. However the pathogenic process responsible for SSPE has not yet been elucidated. In the case of multiple sclerosis the evidence of the etiologic role of measles virus is only indirect and not as firm as in SSPE. Both diseases have stimulated investigations of the biology of the measles virus or provided ideas for studies in the future.