title: Interleukin-17A Levels Vary in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Association with Their Age, Treatment and the Time of Evolution of the Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study was specifically designed to discern the possible existence of subgroups of patients with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (RRMS) depending on their gender, age, disease stage (relapsing or remitting), time of disease evolution and response to different treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed samples from patients with RRMS (50 females and 32 males) and healthy individuals (25 matched for age and gender) and determined serum concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-17A. We stratified patients by gender, age, treatment and disease evolution time, and subsequently correlated these independent variables with the concentrations of the previously mentioned cytokines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We provided initial evidence that treatment exerted possible differential effects depending on the time of disease duration. Results evidence the existence of different subgroups of patients with MS, who can be classified as follows: (a) male or female under or over 40 years of age; (b) disease duration according to treatment (under or over 8 years of disease); (c) classification according to fluctuating levels of IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-17A in the following three stages of disease evolution: <5 years, between 5 and 10 years, and >10 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These subgroups must be taken into account for the clinical follow-up of patients with MS in order to provide them with a better and more personalized treatment, and also for a deep and detailed analysis of progressive disease, in an attempt to comprehend fluctuations and clinical variability by means of a better understanding of intrinsically physiological variables of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Doctorado en Ciencias Biomx00E9;dicas (DCBM), CUCS, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico.
authors.forename: José de Jesús
authors.initials: Jde J
authors.lastname: Guerrero-García
authors.forename: Víctor Andrés
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Castañeda-Moreno
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torres-Carrillo
authors.forename: José Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Valle
authors.forename: Oscar Kurt
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Bitzer-Quintero
authors.forename: María Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ponce-Regalado
authors.forename: Mario Alberto
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mireles-Ramírez
authors.forename: Yeminia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Valle
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ortuño-Sahagún
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508717:IL17A protein, human; D020381:Interleukin-17; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma