title: MR peri-CSF lesions and CSF oligoclonal bands in Italian multiple sclerosis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the association between brain lesion distribution and the presence of oligoclonal IgG bands (OCBs) in Italian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively selected brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uniformly performed in 56 relapsing patients (41 patients OCB positive).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Brain lesions in periventricular areas occurred in 92.86% of the patients (100% OCB+ and 73.33% OCB-) (P = 0.004), but we did not find a significant difference for their median volume (P = 0.553) and median number (P = 0.606) between the two groups. Parenchymal lesions occurred in 76.8% of the patients with a similar distribution (P = 1.00) and no significant difference in the median volume (P = 0.818) and number (P = 0.643) between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study on cohort of Italian MS patients demonstrated a lack of correlation between lesion distribution and OCBs, suggesting that B cells producing them could be localized both in meningeal niches and cerebral parenchyma.
authors.affiliation: Neurological Institute IRCCS Fondazione C.Mondino, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. anna.pichiecchio@mondino.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pichiecchio
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tavazzi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maccabelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ponzio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schiappacassa
authors.forename: G U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Poloni
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franciotta
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roccatagliata
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bergamaschi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bastianello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D043025:Oligoclonal Bands