Histologically confirmed normal pieces of human white matter removed during surgical approach to underlying pathology were studied by acrylamide disc gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy. A basic electrophoretic pattern of the white matter homogenates from three separate patients is described. Aliquots of white matter from two of these patients were incubated at 4 degrees C and 23 degrees C for intervals up to 18 hours, then homogenized and electrophoresed to detect any degradative changes in the basic protein band. Results of these studies indicated that the basic protein band of freshly obtained normal human white matter was unaffected by incubation at 23 degrees C for as long as 18 hours. Electron microscopic examination of white matter that was incubated for 2 hours at room temperature prior to fixation, showed sporadic areas of lamellar separation, a finding similar to but not as extensive as that described earlier in white matter obtained at autopsy that was performed 8 hours post-mortem. These findings 1) confirm earlier observations made on autopsy material, 2) are compatible with location of basic protein along the cytoplasmic surface of myelin lamellae, and 3) further emphasize the remarkable resistance of basic protein in situ to autolytic degradation.

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Serum levels of IgE, other immunoglobulins and C'3 were measured in 36 MS patients, and the results compared with those of 40 age- and sex-matched patients hospitalized on Neurology Service. Diagnoses among controls included cerebral infarction, cervical spondylosis, nonmigrainous headache, seizure disorders and peripheral neuropathy. Six patients in the MS group and seven in the non-MS group had a past history of allergy to food, drugs, dust or other substances. IgE levels were measured by double-antibody radioimmunoassay. Other immunoglobulins (G, M, D and A) and C'3 were quantitated by Mancini's method. Results indicate that the median IgE and C'3 levels of MS patients were slightly lower than those for non-MS subjects. Concentrations of other immunoglobulins were similar for the two groups. CSF samples from 12 MS and five non-MS patients were studied and none of these contained measureable (greater than 7.5 U/ml) IgE. In view of: 1) recent reports describing mast cells in MS plaques, 2) the suggested role of biogenic amines in the pathogenesis of demyelinating diseases, and 3) because IgE exists in free and cell bound state, it is suggested that tissue surveys of MS plaques for IgE deposits similar to those seen in glomeruli in nephrotic syndromes may provide a clue to the pathogenesis of MS.