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Evoked potential testing in relatives of multiple sclerosis patients
Annals of Neurology
|July 1, 1985
Summary
First-degree relatives of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients show subtle subclinical electrophysiological changes on evoked potential (EP) tests. These minor EP alterations in healthy relatives are not predictive of developing MS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Electrophysiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system.
- First-degree relatives of MS patients have an increased genetic risk.
- Evoked potential (EP) testing assesses the integrity of sensory pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate subclinical electrophysiological abnormalities in neurologically normal first-degree relatives of MS patients.
- To explore the relationship between HLA type and EP findings in MS families.
Main Methods:
- Evoked potential (EP) tests, including visual, brainstem auditory, and somatosensory, were performed on 110 first-degree relatives of MS patients.
- Age and gender-matched controls were used for comparison.
- Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing was performed on patient-relative pairs.
Main Results:
- Relatives exhibited significantly longer mean visual EP P100 latencies compared to controls.
- Subclinical EP asymmetries were observed in individual relatives.
- EP asymmetries were more frequent in HLA-identical siblings, particularly those sharing HLA types with MS patients.
Conclusions:
- Neurologically normal first-degree relatives of MS patients display subtle, subclinical electrophysiological changes.
- These EP changes are not indicative of future clinical MS development.
- Clinicians should exercise caution in interpreting minor EP abnormalities in MS relatives.