ABSTRACT
Immune reactions against self-constituents play an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases affecting man and animals. This chapter focuses on virus diseases which affect the concerns the correct (CNS). It presents an outline of anatomical and physiological conditions which form the basis for the privileged role of the CNS as a target for persistent virus infections and immunologically mediated damage. The chapter describes representative virus-host systems in which immune pathological reactions are encountered and discusses the possible contribution of autoimmunity. Several anatomical and physiological conditions are a prerequisite for virus-induced CNS diseases associated with persistent infections. Autoimmune diseases are either the consequence of intrinsic genetic factors leading to immunopathological reactions against self-constituents or are triggered by external stimuli which lead to autoimmune reactions imposed on a certain genetic background. Several experimental observations support the idea that viral proteins may display epitopes which cross-react with host-specific antigenic determinants.
