title: Cell count and ratio of helper/inducer to suppressor/cytotoxic T-cells in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The cell count and the helper/inducer to suppressor/cytotoxic T-cell ratio (T4:T8) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were compared in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases. The T4:T8 ratio was higher in patients with MS than in patients with other neurological diseases. A low or normal CSF cell count was associated with a more significant increase in the T4:T8 ratio in patients with MS. These findings imply that the increased T4:T8 ratio found in MS is masked by an inflammatory pleocytosis or that the shift appears only when pleocytosis is absent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Klinikum Rudolf-Virchow, Standort Charlottenburg, Berlin.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kölmel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sudau
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory