1. B-cell composition in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients treated with dimethyl fumarate.
- Author
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Høglund RA, Polak J, Vartdal F, Holmøy T, and Lossius A
- Subjects
- Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Dimethyl Fumarate administration & dosage, Female, Humans, Immunosuppressive Agents administration & dosage, Male, Middle Aged, B-Lymphocytes drug effects, Dimethyl Fumarate pharmacology, Immunosuppressive Agents pharmacology, Multiple Sclerosis blood, Multiple Sclerosis cerebrospinal fluid, Multiple Sclerosis drug therapy
- Abstract
Background: B cells may contribute to the immunopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) has recently been shown to reduce the frequency of memory B cells in blood, but it is not known whether the drug influences the cellular composition in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)., Methods: A cross-sectional study examining the cellular composition in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 10 patients treated with DMF and 18 patients receiving other disease modifying drugs or no treatment., Results: Patients treated with DMF had reduced proportions of memory B cells in blood compared to other MS patients (p = 0.0007), and the reduction correlated with treatment duration (r
s = -0.75, p = 0.021). In the CSF, the absolute number of mononuclear cells were significantly lower in DMF-treated patients compared to the other patients (p = 0.023), and there was a disproportionate decrease of plasmablasts (p = 0.031)., Conclusion: The results of this exploratory study support a B-cell mediated mechanism of action for DMF in both blood and CSF., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2018
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