Elevated intrathecal myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in multiple sclerosis

To evaluate antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and control individuals.

Prospective case-control series.

Academic referral center.

Twenty-six controls with noninflammatory neurologic disease and 35 patients with MS donated serum and CSF for recombinant MOG (rMOG) antibody determination.

Serum and CSF rMOG antibody and albumin levels were used to calculate an rMOG index. Clinical disability, CSF markers, and magnetic resonance metrics were correlated with the rMOG index.

The rMOG index was elevated in MS patients compared with controls (P = .01). Patients with progressive MS exhibited elevated rMOG indexes compared with patients with relapsing-remitting MS (P = .04). The rMOG index was inferior to the IgG index in differentiating MS patients from controls. However, 7 of 16 patients with MS who had normal immunoglobulin G indexes had an elevated rMOG index. The rMOG index did not correlate with clinical disability, other CSF markers, or radiographic outcome measures.

The rMOG index, a marker of intrathecal MOG antibody production, may provide complementary information to routine CSF testing in the diagnosis of MS. Furthermore, intrathecal anti-MOG antibody production may be more pronounced in progressive than in relapsing forms of MS.