Clinical significance and prognostic value of serum autoantibody tests in multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: It is known that multiple sclerosis (MS) often coexists with other autoimmune diseases. Hence, autoantibody (auto-Ab) tests may prove useful in the differential diagnosis of MS. The objectives of this study were to: (a) investigate the prevalence of auto-Ab positivity at the beginning of the MS diagnostic process; (b) assess whether Auto-Ab+ and Auto-Ab- patients differ in baseline clinical, laboratory, and radiological parameters; and (c) investigate the prognostic value during a two-year follow-up period.