Multiple sclerosis: a clinico-biological study of 100 cases in Spain

A study was carried out on 100 cases with the clinical diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Several clinical and analytical factors were considered and correlated. Special attention was paid to data obtained from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) electrophoresis. The degree of severity of the disease does not affect the selective evaluation frequency of gamma-globulin or its average values. A greater frequency of definite gamma-globulin increase is observed in patients with a stationary development than in those a progressive development although, in both instances, the average values of gamma-globulin do not show any significant difference. There is no correlation between the CSF data and the presumed clinical site of the lesion. Those patients with a single lesion have a lower incidence of pathological data in CSF than those with multiple lesions. A higher proportion of pathological results is seen in CSF of patients with a chronic evolution from the onset than in chronic-intermittent cases. The cases studied during a relapse show a marked decrease in the frequency of definite gamma-globulin increase and paretic colloidal curves. This group of patients gives lower average values of gamma-globulin, total protein and cells, than those patients examined out of relapse. These results are in agreement with recent immunopathological observations.