HLA-antigens and the prognosis of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

The histocompatibility pattern of 160 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the epidemiological area of Southern Lower Saxony was determined and compared to a control population. The only significant difference was the more frequent occurrence of DW2 in the patient group (44% vs. 21%). Taking a progression index (grade of disability divided by the duration of the disease) as a measure for prognosis no difference could be found between the DW2 positive and the DW2 negative patients. The reason why we could not confirm the worse prognosis for DW2 positive patients found by Jersild et al. (1973) and Raun et al. (1980) remains to be investigated.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein: a potential biomarker for progression in multiple sclerosis

“…With median dichotomized variables, the risk for high EDSS ([5.5) was increased [odds ratio (OR) = 4.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] in patients with high GFAP levels ([350 ng/L).…”

“…A relapse was defined according to McDonald criteria as an episode of neurological disturbance lasting for at least 24 h [17]. Neurological deficits were scored with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) [11], and disease progression and severity were calculated using the progression index (EDSS/disease duration) [24,35] and the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS), respectively [28]. Duration of disease was based on the date of first symptom presentation.…”

Apolipoprotein E genotype does not influence the progression of multiple sclerosis

“…To evaluate MS progression, we calculated the progression index (PI) as a measure of cumulative disability over time. The PI corresponds to the ratio between EDSS and disease duration in years [15]. The PI index was selected as a measure of disease progression to perform comparisons with the data obtained by others.…”

Expression of the human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen DR3 transgene reduces the severity of demyelination in a murine model of multiple sclerosis.

“…Analysis of HLA antigen subtypes demonstrated an increased frequency of HLA-DR2 in both the benign and severe forms of the disease compared with control patients, but an association between DR3 and the absence of disease progression was found. Although the association between DR3 and benign MS has been observed in other populations (16), some investigators (17,18) have found no correlation, or the opposite association, i.e., progressive disease with DR3 (19).…”