Measles Antibody in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Introduction The search for a virus as the cause of multiple sclerosis has been extensive, but inconclusive.¹ Adams and Imagawa² recently reported that: 1. Complement fixation (CF) and neutralization (Neut) tests revealed higher titers of measles antibody^* in the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis than in those of a control group. 2. CF or Neut antibody for measles were present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of over 75% of the multiple sclerosis group and absent in the CSF of the control group. They did not suggest that measles was the cause of multiple sclerosis, but their findings, if reproducible, could represent an important breakthrough for further investigations of a causal or of an indirect immunological relationship. The present study was prompted by the need for independent verification of the above report, as well as the evaluation of the role of several other viruses in multiple sclerosis. Methods