Changes in plasma cytokines induced by interferon-β1a treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis

It has been postulated that the efficacy of interferon-beta 1a in multiple sclerosis may be due to the induction of type 2 cytokines. in this report we demonstrate that after 3 months of therapy, there is no sustained alteration in the plasma levels of type 1 (IL-12, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha) or type 2 (IL-6, IL-10) cytokines, but rather repeated induction of both with each injection. Little alteration is seen in the profile of cytokines induced with time, despite a decline in side effects. This suggests that IFN-Pla causes repented transient modulation of cytokine expression, but no sustained deviation in the type 1/type 2 balance. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.