The intrathecal polyspecific antiviral immune response (MRZ reaction): A potential cerebrospinal fluid marker for multiple sclerosis diagnosis

Abstract

We tested the performance of MRZ-reaction, an intrathecal humoral immune response against-Measles (M), Rubella (R) and Varicella Zoster (Z) viruses, in multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.The MRZ-reaction was significantly more positive in MS than in non-MS group with a specificity of 91.9%. In MS group, the RZ-profile was the most prevalent and the R-specific antibody-index was correlated to the number of oligoclonal bands (OCB) in CSF. Interestingly, the MRZ-reaction was detected in 53% of OCB-negative-MS patients.The MRZ-reaction seems to be a relevant CSF diagnostic marker of MS disease. The likely relation between its positivity and the vaccination status deserves to be investigated.