Absence of cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands is associated with delayed disability progression in relapsing-remitting MS patients treated with interferon-beta.
To assess the role of CSF oligoclonal bands (OB) in determining the clinical outcome in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with IFN-beta, we carried out a retrospective, multicentre, observational study recruiting 209 RRMS patients from six MS centres from northern, central and southern areas of Italy under treatment with IFN-beta-1a i.m., IFN-beta-1a s.c. and IFN-beta-1b s.c. Twenty-two of 209 patients (10.6%) showed no OB in CSF. The patients without had, at disease onset, significantly higher frequency of visual disturbances (p=0.02) and less sensory involvement (p=0.04) than those with OB. A statistical trend (p=0.056) towards a longer time to reach sustained disability progression during treatment was found in patients without compared to those with OB. Thirty-six of 187 (19%) patients with OB worsened by at least 1 EDSS point compared to none of 22 (0%) OB-negative patients (p=0.017). The delaying of disability progression in OB-negative patients during treatment was significantly dependent only on the number of baseline MRI T2-weighted lesions (p=0.012) that was found to be significantly lower in OB-negative than in OB-positive patients (p=0.04). The absence of OB and low number of baseline T2-weighted lesions in this cohort of MS patients are favourable prognostic factors influencing the clinical response to IFN-beta treatment in RRMS patients.
Department of Neurological Sciences and Behaviour, University of Siena, Italy. annunziata@unisi.it
Pasquale
P
Annunziata
Antonio
A
Giorgio
Lorenzo
L
De Santi
Valentina
V
Zipoli
Emilio
E
Portaccio
Maria Pia
MP
Amato
Raffaella
R
Clerici
Elio
E
Scarpini
Gianluca
G
Moscato
Alfonso
A
Iudice
Giovanni
G
Vacca
Giuseppe
G
Orefice
Vincenzo Brescia
VB
Morra
Davide
D
Maimone
D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands; D016899:Interferon-beta