Polio antibodies and HLA antigens in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, progressive disease of the central nervous system. Its possible association with poliomyelitis was studied by measuring neutralizing antibodies against polio virus types 1, 2 and 3 in the sera and cerebrospinal fluids of 11 ALS-patients, but antibody titers did not markedly differ from those of the controls. The HLA antigens of 12 ALS patients were also determined, in order to reveal any possible genetically-determined susceptibility to the disease. Possible association of ALS with HLA-Bw40 was noted. In addition, the Bw40 antigen seemed to be associated with milder progression of the disease. The lymphocytes of the ALS patients seemed defective in their capacity to stimulate allogenic lymphocytes, possibly due to a relative decrease of B cells in the peripheral blood. Joint efforts of study groups of neuroepidemiology, immunology and genetics should be mobilized to reveal the true nature of these findings.