A common virus may play a major role in causing a painful disease of immune cells that attacks children’s bones, according to a new study. The research may eventually lead to an easier diagnosis and to more effective treatments of the disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Researchers found evidence of the virus, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in the tissues of 25 of 35 children with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), compared to virus detected in only five of 19 children without LCH. The research team, led by John P. Dormans, M.D., director of Orthopaedic Surgery at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, published its findings in the January/February issue of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.
