HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jnnp.2005.085126v1 77/10/1195    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Saraste, M Articles by Airas, L Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Saraste, M Articles by Airas, L

Cerebrospinal fluid findings in multiple sclerosis patients before, during and after pregnancy

¹ MediCity Research Laboratory, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
² Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Turku
³ Department of Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
⁴ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Helsinki
⁵ MediCity Research Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University of Turku

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Laura Airas
Department of Neurology, University of Turku, PO Box 52, 20521 Turku, Finland; laura.airas@utu.fi

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The mechanisms responsible for the lower relapse rate of multiple sclerosis during pregnancy and an increased relapse rate during the postpartum period are still undefined. Putative explanations include pregnancy-related alterations in the function of the immune system, such as a shift towards T helper (Th)2-type immune reactivity and expansion of regulatory T lymphocytes.^1,2 Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) offers a unique opportunity to characterise immunological pathways in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. The inflammatory activity in the central nervous system (CNS) of patients with multiple sclerosis is reflected in the composition of CSF cells and one hallmark of the disease is the production of intrathecal antibodies. The aim of our study was to investigate the alterations that take place in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis during pregnancy. To our knowledge, no previous attempts have been made to analyse the components of the CSF of pregnant patients with . . . [Full text of this article]