Neurovirology is an interdisciplinary field which represents a melding of clinical neuroscience, virology, immunology, and molecular biology.
In addition to this, the field studies the use of viruses to trace neuroanatomical pathways, for gene therapy, and to eliminate detrimental populations of neural cells.
[1] It was founded upon the discovery that a large number of viruses are capable of invading and establishing latent infections in nervous tissue.
The main focus of the field is to study the molecular and biological basis of virus induced diseases of the nervous system.
[3]: 1 In 1881, while studying rabies, Louis Pasteur demonstrated that the central nervous system played a crucial role in the progression of the disease.
White matter acute inflammatory diseases were characterized by destruction of the myelin, with neurons remaining intact.
[6]: 23 Neurons lack molecules necessary to present viral peptides on the surface to killer cells, which means they provide a safe house for viruses to replicate.
Within the first 5 days of symptom onset, before the decline of viral replication, PCR assays have a higher incidence of detecting CNS infection.
In recent years, due to the development of less invasive diagnosis techniques, brain biopsies are no longer frequently used for diagnosing viral infections of the nervous system.
[6]: 121 New viruses and viral infections of the nervous system will continue to emerge and the field of neurovirology must constantly expand to meet these growing needs.
[6]: v While the interest in researching viruses that infect the nervous system has increased dramatically over the past 40 years, there are three key components vital for the continued advancement of the field: