Blood count parameters in the course of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). It mostly affects young people. Pathological lesions cause destruction of myelin sheath around axons and impede transmission of nerve impulses in CNS. The diagnosis of MS is based on clinical evaluation, biochemical blood tests and cerebrospinal fluid tests as well as on imaging. The study aim was assessment of blood counts of MS patients. Materials and methods. The study group comprised 189 people (77 healthy) and 112 MS patients treated at the Department of Neurology of the Medical University of Lublin. Parameters of EDTA anticoagulated whole blood were determined on the Advia 2012i analyzer. Statistica 12.5 program was used for statistical analysis. Results. Patients evaluated with regard to clinical condition and disease progression demonstrate differences in RBC count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). RBC count of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) was lower (Me = 4.73 million/μl) than for patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS) (Me = 5.03 million/μl). Additionally, differences in hemoglobin level were observed between RRMS patients (Me = 13.9 g/dl) and SPMS patients (Me = 14.7 g/dl). Significant differences were also observed in hematocrit; (Me = 40.5%) for RRMS and (Me = 44%) for SPMS patients. Differences in MCV between the examined groups of MS patients and the control group were not statistically significant. The same referred to differences in WBC count; (Me = 6.95 thousand/μl) for MS patients and (Me = 6.59 thousand/μl) for control group as well as platelet count; (Me = 237.5 μs/μl) for SM patients and (Me = 252 thousand/μl) for controls. Conclusion. Analysis of blood parameters reveals significant differences between MS patients and controls as well as differences between RRMS and SPMS patients with regard to red blood cells. An in-depth analysis also in terms of disease duration and stage of clinical advancement may be a valuable source of information on the overall condition of MS patients.