[Biochemical mechanisms of impaired neuroimmune interaction in multiple sclerosis]

Neurotransmitters and cytokines that play a key role in the mechanisms of interaction of the nervous and immune systems have been studied in both the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of 195 patients with multiple sclerosis. The findings suggest that neurotransmitters and cytokines play a role in the pathochemical mechanisms of development of the disease and that certain neurotransmitter systems are involved into the development of some neurological symptoms. It was proposed that excitotoxic mechanisms are responsible for the damages to nervous tissue and for death of oligodendroglial cells in multiple sclerosis. Alterations in norepinephrine levels and platelet serotonergic indices may be manifestations of compensatory protective mechanisms that resulted in activation of primarily suppressor T-lymphocytes. The inflammatory cytokines--interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha participate in the mechanisms of pathologic process activation and in the development of the disease. On the contrary, interferon-alpha was supposed to promote remission and involved in the mechanisms of a favorable course of multiple sclerosis that testified the necessity of differential immunocorrection at different stages of the disease.