Cerebrospinal fluid free kappa light chains and kappa index perform equal to oligoclonal bands in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Background Detection of intrathecal immunoglobulin G (IgG) synthesis by gold standard oligoclonal bands (OCB) or IgG index remains an integral part of multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnostics, although both methods have weaknesses. Emerging evidence suggests that automated detection of free light chains (FLC) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has diagnostic performance equal to OCB. The objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of CSF FLC with OCB and IgG index in a large cohort of Scandinavian patients referred for MS evaluation.

Subsets of activated monocytes and markers of inflammation in incipient and progressed multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune mediated, inflammatory and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Substantial evidence points toward monocytes and macrophages playing prominent roles early in disease, mediating both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. Monocytes are subdivided into three subsets depending on the expression of CD14 and CD16, representing different stages of inflammatory activation.

A multi-biomarker follow-up study of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the levels of the macrophage marker sCD163 and other biomarkers at the time of diagnosis of patients with either clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and assess relation to clinical indicators of prognosis, disease activity (DA), and changes in the levels of these biomarkers at follow-up.

Materials And Methods: The clinical status and MRI were reevaluated in 56 patients more than 1 year after diagnosis with a median follow-up time of 2 years. Levels of biomarkers in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

Biomarkers of inflammation and axonal degeneration/damage in patients with newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis: contributions of the soluble CD163 CSF/serum ratio to a biomarker panel.

Background: Expression of soluble CD163 (sCD163), a macrophage/microglia biomarker, is increased in inflammatory conditions, and sCD163 levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have recently been shown to be elevated in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS): the sCD163 CSF/serum ratio was elevated in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS), and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) compared with symptomatic controls.

Objective: To investigate the contributions of the sCD163 CSF/serum ratio to a biomarker panel focusing on inflammation and axonal degeneration in newly diagnosed MS; thus optimising a diagnostic biomarker panel for MS.

Methods: After a full MS diagnostic work-up, including collection of paired samples of CSF and serum, 125 patients were included in this study.

Structural insight into the function of myelin basic protein as a ligand for integrin alpha M beta 2.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease where phagocytic cells infiltrate the nerve tissue and act as terminal agents in destruction of the myelin sheath. However, the mechanism that triggers the ability of these cells to recognize myelin remains obscure. We show that myelin basic protein (MBP), a major autoantigen in MS, is a potent and specific ligand for the integrin alpha(M)beta(2) (Mac-1, CD11b/CD18) expressed mainly on phagocytic cells.