Defining a new biomarker for the autoimmune component of Multiple Sclerosis: Th40 cells.

ABSTRACT: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, neurodegenerative disease. Diagnosis is very difficult requiring defined symptoms and multiple CNS imaging. A complicating issue is that almost all symptoms are not disease specific for MS. Autoimmunity is evident, yet the only immune-related diagnostic tool is cerebral-spinal fluid examination for oligoclonal bands. This study addresses the impact of Th40 cells, a pathogenic effector subset of helper T cells, in MS. MS patients including relapsing/remitting MS, secondary progressive MS and primary progressive MS were examined for Th40 cell levels in peripheral blood and, similar to our findings in autoimmune type 1 diabetes, the levels were significantly (p<0.0001) elevated compared to controls including healthy non-autoimmune subjects an

SUBMITTER: Waid DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4038952 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature