title: Clinical significance of the number of oligoclonal bands in patients with clinically isolated syndromes.
abstract: CSF oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) are a risk factor for clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS). We aimed to address the relevance of the number of OCBs in the prognosis of CIS patients. 219 CIS patients were included in the study, and 42% of them developed the disease during follow-up (median: 5.04 years). Patients with a high number of CSF OCBs (third quartile, 8-12 OCBs) had 2.5-fold increase in CDMS risk, while no further increase in the HR of disease was observed for patients with more than 12 OCBs. The results did not change after adjustment for additional correlates of CDMS development. This association may be due to the epitope-spreading phenomenon and may reflect the stage of the disease at the time of the examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dalla Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Passerini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Josè
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moiola
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariaemma
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodegher
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Locatelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comi
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Furlan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: martinelli.vittorio@hsr.it.
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martinelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D043025:Oligoclonal Bands
keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Multiple sclerosis; Oligoclonal bands