Interleukin-17A Levels Vary in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Association with Their Age, Treatment and the Time of Evolution of the Disease

Abstract

Objective: The present study was specifically designed to discern the possible existence of subgroups of patients with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (RRMS) depending on their gender, age, disease stage (relapsing or remitting), time of disease evolution and response to different treatments. Methods: We analyzed samples from patients with RRMS (50 females and 32 males) and healthy individuals (25 matched for age and gender) and determined serum concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-17A. We stratified patients by gender, age, treatment and disease evolution time, and subsequently correlated these independent variables with the concentrations of the previously mentioned cytokines. Results: We provided initial evidence that treatment exerted possible differential effects depending on the time of disease duration. Results evidence the existence of different subgroups of patients with MS, who can be classified as follows: (a) male or female under or over 40 years of age; (b) disease duration according to treatment (under or over 8 years of disease); (c) classification according to fluctuating levels of IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-17A in the following three stages of disease evolution: <5 years, between 5 and 10 years, and >10 years. Conclusion: These subgroups must be taken into account for the clinical follow-up of patients with MS in order to provide them with a better and more personalized treatment, and also for a deep and detailed analysis of progressive disease, in an attempt to comprehend fluctuations and clinical variability by means of a better understanding of intrinsically physiological variables of the disease.