[Bence-Jones proteinuria in multiple sclerosis: a possible indicator of disease activity]

The protein patterns of the serum, cerebrospinal fluid and urine from 32 patients with definite multiple sclerosis and 30 control patients with neurological non-demyelinating disorders were simultaneously analyzed by means of high-resolution agarose gel electrophoresis combined with immunofixation. About one-third (31%) of the patients with multiple sclerosis were found to excrete monoclonal free light chains of immunoglobulins, i.e., Bence Jones proteins, in the urine without any concurrent immunoproliferative disease. Bence Jones proteinuria, at concentration generally not exceeding 0.2 g/24 hours, was demonstrated exclusively in multiple sclerosis patients in a phase of active disease (44% of the cases) or in chronic progressive disease (25% of the cases). The results of the study suggest that the presence of Bence Jones protein in the urine from multiple sclerosis patients may be utilized as an indicator of disease activity.