Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of brain and spinal cord neurons are damaged by autoantibodies resulting in demyelination and scarring. Biological markers are very important to find the neuronal damage, capable to predict disease course and effective response to therapy. Our previous studies have shown that the IgG antibodies can serve as biomarkers showing nervous system chronic dysfunction. Titers of the serum IgG anti-GM1 antibodies are associated as potential biomarkers with the diagnosis of demyelination whilst the serum anti-GD1a antibodies are associated with neurodegeneration and acute motor axonal neuropathy. The IgG anti-GM3 titers are connected with the tearing of the integrity of the blood brain barrier (BBB). Our study involves 15 patients in secondary progressive MS form with long therapies. The aim of this study is to show that the complex of anti-ganglioside antibodies (detected by ELISA) may be useful diagnostic and prognostic tool markers for demyelination (GM1), neurodegeneration (GD1a) and (GM3) – correlates with the loss of integrity of the BBB. Our method showed that in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients with a long-term course of the disease the neurodegenerative changes and the lack of integrity of the BBB are significantly more pronounced than the development of the process of demyelination.
Key words: demyelination, neurodegeneration, ELISA, serum IgG anti-GM1, anti-GD1a and anti-GM3 antibodies
Topic: MEDICINE