[Increase in the efficacy of corticosteroid therapy in multiple sclerosis]

Using modern tests (rosette formation, radial immunodiffusion, complement titration), 42 patients with the cerebrospinal form of multiple sclerosis were examined. The patients were divided into different categories on the basis of the ratios between lymphocyte populations in the peripheral blood. Corticosteroid therapy was indicated only when hypersensitization of the B-system of immunity was predominant. In other cases corticosteroids led to the aggravation of immune deficiency with regard to T-suppressors and clinical deterioration. The mechanisms of action of corticosteroids and the prospects of their employment in multiple sclerosis are discussed.