Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1998 Jun;97(6):359-65.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1998.tb05966.x.

Effect of high-dose methylprednisolone administration on immune functions in multiple sclerosis patients

K P Wandinger  1 , K Wessel, P Trillenberg, N Heindl, H Kirchner
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Effect of high-dose methylprednisolone administration on immune functions in multiple sclerosis patients

K P Wandinger et al. Acta Neurol Scand. 1998 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the in vivo effect of corticosteroid pulse therapy on immunocompetent cells in 18 patients given methylprednisolone to treat an acute episode of MS.

Material and methods: Blood was sampled before and after 3 days of methylprednisolone administration at doses of 1 g/day. Lymphocyte subtyping was performed and whole blood cell cultures were used to measure the cytokine producing capacity for interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). In addition, serum levels of the immunoglobulin classes IgG, IgA and IgM were determined.

Results: Before treatment, production of IL-1 was significantly increased in MS patients as compared to healthy controls. After therapy, production of all cytokines was significantly decreased, whereas there were significant increases in the numbers of monocytes, neutrophils and T and B lymphocytes. Treatment had no effect on serum immunoglobulin levels.

Conclusion: An important mechanism for the antiinflammatory effect of corticosteroids in MS results from a suppression of the activation of the peripheral immune compartment through inhibition of cytokine production and lymphocyte endothelial adhesiveness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources