[Measles antibody in patients with multiple sclerosis at different stages of the disease]

Sixty-nine patients with multiple sclerosis from 12 to 53 years of age were examined. The titre of measles antibody in the blood serum (geometric mean) was 9.0 log2 in the patients and 5.1 log2 in normal subjects of the control group. The antibody titre was found to depend upon the stage of the disease: the sera collected in the period of remission had a titre of 7.3 log2, and those collected in the exacerbation stage 10.7 log2. Nineteen patients were examined both during remission and at the time of exacerbation: their antibody titres were 6.8 and 10.7 log2, respectively. The antibody titre did not depend upon duration of the disease, sex or age of the patients. Antibody in the cerebrospinal fluid was detected in 3 out of 8 patients in the stage of remission and in 6 out of 9 patients in the stage of exacerbation. In 4 out of 11 patients, measles immunoglobulins of the M class were found by means of serum fractionation in sucrose density gradient.