Increased MRI activity and immune activation in two multiple sclerosis patients treated with the monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody cA2

There is evidence that treatment with an antibody to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) improves an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS) and is beneficial in two systemic inflammatory diseases in humans, but there are no reports about anti-TNF treatment of MS. Therefore, we treated two rapidly progressive MS patients with intravenous infusions of a humanized mouse monoclonal anti-TNF antibody (cA2) in an open-label phase I safety trial and monitored their clinical status, gadolinium-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immunologic status.