title: Multiple sclerosis and human T-cell lymphotropic retroviruses: negative serological results in 135 German patients.
abstract: A total of 135 sera and 18 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were screened for antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by ELISA tests. None of the sera or CSF reacted with HIV antigens. Only 3 out of 135 MS sera but no MS CSF showed increased reactions in the ELISA test for HTLV-I. However, these positive reactions were classified as non-specific by immunoprecipitation. Thus no serological evidence for infection with HIV, HTLV-I, or a related retrovirus was found in the MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kitze
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hunsmann
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wendler
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kappos
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005858:Germany; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology*; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral