title: Antiparasitic antibodies occur with similar frequency in patients with clinically established multiple sclerosis with or without oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: The "hygiene hypothesis" postulates an inverse relationship between the prevalence of parasitic infections and the frequency of multiple sclerosis (MS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  It was to study whether antibodies against parasites could be demonstrated more frequently in blood serum from MS patients with oligoclonal bands (OCB) than from MS patients without OCB.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied serum samples from 164 patients who had previously been analyzed to investigate OCB. Parasitic antibodies were studied through unidimensional electrophoresis of proteins on polyacrylamide gel against Taenia antigens, searching for antiparasitic specific low molecular weight antibodies and also for antiparasitic nonspecific high molecular weight antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two of the 103 patients with no evidence of OCB had antibodies of low molecular weight and 59 of them had antibodies of high molecular weight. Of the 61 patients with evidence of OCB, one showed antibodies of low molecular weight and 16 showed antibodies of high molecular weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antiparasitic antibodies are detected with similar frequency in MS patients with OCB and in MS patients without OCB.
authors: Laboratório de Investigação Médica em Neurologia, FM, USP, São Paulo SP, Brazil. fabianacruz@lim15.fm.usp.br
authors: Fabiana Cruz Gomes da
authors: FC
authors: Fonseca-Papavero
authors: Dagoberto
authors: D
authors: Callegaro
authors: Paulo Diniz da
authors: PD
authors: Gama
authors: José Antonio
authors: JA
authors: Livramento
authors: Adelaide José
authors: AJ
authors: Vaz
authors: Luís Dos Ramos
authors: Ldos R
authors: Machado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands