Circulating immune complexes and complement in the course of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

To evaluate the reactions of the humoral immune response in the course of multiple sclerosis (MS), 21 patients were examined approximately 10 times at regular intervals for 1 year. The study included concomitant investigations of the total neurological deficit (TND) and laboratory analyses of the complement profile, detection of circulating immune complexes (CIC) and heterophilic antibodies (HPA).CIC were found in 58.7 % of the investigations, often with simultaneous activation of C4 and C3. The mean values of the complement levels of the MS patients, however, did not differ from the values in a normal population. The consecutive investigations demonstrated a negative regression of TND on C4 from one month previously, a concomitant negative regression of TND on C3 and a positive regression of CIC from one month subsequently on TND. No significant relation between the clinical type of the disease and the occurrence of CIC was demonstrated, but the occurrence of attacks seemed to correlate with development of HPA.

Do we need broad immunological work-up in all patients with CIS?

“…These changes however were slightly below normal limits for C3, and slightly above normal limits for C4. Previous studies have shown that the mean values of the complement levels of the MS patients did not differ from the values in a normal population [20].…”