Approach to discriminate subgroups in multiple sclerosis with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) basic inflammation indices and TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8

Lumbar CSF and serum pairs of untreated multiple sclerosis patients (MS; n = 47) were analyzed on admission. On average, higher CSF leukocyte (lymphocyte and monocyte) counts, IgG index, CSF IgG contents, but not of TNF-alpha, IL- 1beta, IL-6, IL-8 in CSF and serum, were revealed in all MS or patients with long disease course (LO-MS) compared with controls. In primary progressive MS (PP-MS) cell counts were low, but IgG contents were high, when compared to relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS). In clinically probable MS (CP-MS) both contents were low, in clinically definite MS (CD-MS) high. Spearman's correlation with the four monokines and the basic indices in CSF revealed activation patterns known for microglia/macrophages in the four MS subgroups, for astrocytes in CP-MS and RR-MS, for CSF lymphocytes in CP-MS and PP-MS, for cells of blood-brain barrier (BBB) in CP-MS, for intrathecal IgG synthesis in PP-MS and for lymphocyte transfer in CD-MS. Correlations between CSF and serum parameters indicated CNS disease processes to be associated with systemic processes of inflammation (acute, chronic) in CD-MS, RR-MS, and PP-MS in different ways. CSF IgG content, IgG index and systemic markers of inflammation correlated with overall disability scores in LO-MS; increasing levels may indicate a bad outcome. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.