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Neutralizing antibodies to interferon

From the Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Avertano Noronha, Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 anoronha{at}neurology.bsd.uchicago.edu

The impact of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to interferon-beta (IFN-ß) on clinical and imaging parameters in multiple sclerosis (MS) is reviewed. An effect on relapse rates and imaging parameters was noted in patients who tested positive for NAbs, but disability measures were unaffected or showed a trend toward improvement. Patients who developed NAbs during treatment with IFN-ß1a tended to remain NAb+, whereas those who developed NAbs during IFN-ß1b treatment tended to revert to NAb– over time. NAbs were more persistent in patients with high titers. The prevalence of NAbs was lower when a higher-than-standard dose of IFN-ß1b was given in a dose-comparison study. The prevalence of NAbs in an observational study of MS patients who exhibited suboptimal treatment responses to IFN-ß1b was significantly less than the reported prevalence in clinical trials. An immunoregulatory effect of immune complexes of cytokine and anticytokine antibodies is proposed to account for the variability of clinical responses seen in patients who develop NAbs to IFN-ß1b.

Disclosure: Dr. Noronha receives research funding from Merck Serono S.A., Berlex, Inc., Biogen Idec, Schering AG, and Teva Neuroscience, Inc. Publication of this supplement was supported by an educational grant from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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