He also noticed a higher concentration of infected cells in areas where demyelination had occurred. His research was likely the first published study to suggest a link between HHV-6 and MS.  MS prevalence increases in populations as they are farther from the Equator. Incidence is three times higher in those born 42 degrees latitude north and above than in those born 37 degrees north and below. Individuals are also less likely to present with MS as an adult if their childhood was spent in a low incidence region. The possibility of a causative infectious agent in association with MS has been evaluated through the lens of these epidemiological findings. To explain the data above, two hypotheses were proposed. The first is known as the Poliomyelitis hypothesis and suggests that infection at a young age confers immunity but adult infection increases MS risk. The second is known as the Prevalence hypothesis, and suggests that MS is caused by a pathogen that is more common in regions with high rates of MS. This pathogen would be widespread and cause an asymptomatic (latent) infection in most individuals. Only rarely and years after the primary infection does this hypothetical agent cause the neurological symptoms of MS. A third hypothesis essentially combines these two and also suggests the involvement of multiple pathogens. The third may best apply to the epidemiological data. The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) paradox is also noteworthy, as HHV-6 has been reported to transactivate EBV. Individuals are at a 10-fold less risk of MS if they are seronegative for EBV. However, among individuals who are positive, those that acquire EBV infection later in life are at a 3-fold greater risk for MS.  Research suggests that viral infections can be tied even closer to MS. EBV antibodies in healthy individuals remain constant, whereas antibody levels in individuals who later develop MS begin to increase and plateau between 20 and 30 years of age, regardless of age of onset. More specific to HHV-6, researchers in 2004 discovered that the initial stages of MS are associated with high levels of the active virus. Soon thereafter, researchers discovered that levels of active HHV-6 are also elevated during relapses/exacerbations of MS.  Researchers have demonstrated that levels of HHV-6 IgG1 and IgM antibodies are elevated in MS patients relative to controls. In fact, research published in 2014 found that increases in anti-HHV-6A/B IgG and IgM titers are predictive of MS relapse.