High-Dose Methylprednisolone Treatment-Induced Changes in Immunological Parameters in Progressive Ms Patients

Abstract

The effect of High-Dose Methylprednisolone (HD-MP) treatment on Peripheral Blood (PB) and Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) immune parameters was investigated in 9 patients with relapsing-progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Short-time effects included reduction of the percentage of CD3⁺, CD4⁺ and CD4⁺CD45RA⁺ PB lymphocytes and increase in CD3⁻CD56⁺ cells. At the end of the treatment, only increase in PB CD19⁺ and in CSF CD8⁺ CD8⁺CD28⁺ and decrease of CSF CD4⁺CD45RA⁻ and serum IL2R levels were observed. No changes in CD11a⁺CD4⁺, CD18⁺CD4⁺ and CD18⁺CD14⁺ PB cells were observed after treatment. The results further stress the complex and multifaceted action of HD-MP on immune parameters.

Keywords:

• HD-MP
• MS
• MNCs subsets
• IL2R levels.