Abstract
The respective patterns of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-restricted oligoclonal IgG bands (OCBs) and assessment of their similarity in serum and CSF are important laboratory tools for evaluating immune-mediated inflammation of the central nervous system. OCB detection is the diagnostic laboratory tool of choice for multiple sclerosis (MS), in the initial, clinically isolated syndromes as well as in the primary progressive forms (1). The imperatives of diagnostic certainty and therapeutic timeliness have made this laboratory test mandatory. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) with IgG immunodetection is the recommended technique for OCB measurements (1)(2). Many factors (e.g., variability in gel conductivity, quality of carrier ampholytes, and electroendosmosis) make IEF inherently difficult to standardize. Notwithstanding this shortcoming, the results of previously published studies on interlaboratory variability in OCB detection indicate …
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