INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune demyelinating disease that secondarily leads to axonal loss and associated brain atrophy. Disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) have previously been studied for their ability to affect specific immunity. This study investigates the effect of interferon beta-1a (INF) and glatiramer acetate (GA) administration on changes in innate immunity cell populations. METHODS: Sixty Caucasian female patients with relapsing-remitting MS undergo blood sample testing for 15 blood parameters at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment by GA or IFN (started as their first-line DMD). RESULTS: A statistically significant difference in the change after 6 months was found in the parameter monocytes (relative count) in the group of patients treated with IFN. The median increase was 27.8%. Changes in many of the other 15 parameters studied were 10-20%. CONCLUSION: Innate immunity has long been neglected in MS immunopathology. The findings suggest that IFN treatment may modulate the immune response in MS by affecting monocyte function and may provide insight into the mechanisms of action of IFN in MS.

Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology Charles University Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove Hradec Kralove Czechia

Department of Neurology Charles University Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove Hradec Kralove Czechia

Department of Neurology Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Plzen Charles University Prague Plzen Czechia

Department of Neurology Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine and University Brno Brno Czechia

Eur Neurol. 2023;86(6):430. doi: 10.1159/000535278. PubMed

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