The major histocompatibility complex, the immune system and multiple sclerosis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Ebers.
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Reported associations of HLA antigens with MS have varied considerably. In this study we have examined 330 clinically definite MS patients from the United States. The frequency of DW2 (52%) was highly statistically significant in MS patients as compared to controls (p less than 0.00001). Neither A3 nor B7 was significantly increased in MS; however, the joint occurrences of A3-DW2 (20% vs 7%, p less than 0.001) and B7-DW2 (30% vs 13%, p less than 0.0002) are highly associated with MS.
The blastogenic response of MS lymphocytes to a group of paramyxovirus antigens and to phytohemagglutinin was investigated. Comparative studies were performed in a selected group of patients before and after transfer factor therapy. There was no blastogenic response of lymphocytes to the paramyxovirus antigens tested in MS patients and normal controls, as measured by the incorporation of 14C thymidine. The stimulation index was below 2.5 even after transfer factor therapy. Lymphocyte transformation induced by PHA appeared significantly depressed in the MS patient group before transfer factor therapy when compared with the normal control group. The presence of serum factors that may depress PHA-induced lymphocyte transformation were looked for and not found. Following transfer factor therapy, an increase of the PHA response was observed in the MS group, such that a statistically significant difference in response compared with the normal control group was no longer present.
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