Anti-myelin antibodies in multiple sclerosis: clinically useful?
- Department of Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Correspondence to: Dr Chris H Polman Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands;ch.polman{at}vumc.nl
Anti-myelin antibodies may have predictive clinical value, but striking correlations as reported earlier are unlikely
Despite numerous studies on prognostic disease markers in multiple sclerosis (MS), very few markers have emerged as clinically relevant. Often, early studies show great potential, but subsequent reports on the same marker yield inconsistent or even contradictory results. It is crucial to understand the reasons why various studies of the same marker lead to different conclusions.
Recently, Berger et al have reported a promising predictor of clinically definite MS in a cohort of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), positive findings on brain magnetic resonance imaging, and oligoclonal bands in their cerebrospinal fluid.1 Of the 103 patients in their cohort, 64 (62%) were seropositive for either anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) or anti-myelin basic protein (MBP) or both IgM antibodies. Patients who were seropositive for both anti-MOG and anti-MBP (22%) had more frequent and earlier relapses than those who were seronegative. The presence of both antibodies predicted the conversion to definite …
