Clinical Correlation of Multiple Sclerosis Immunopathologic Subtypes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The goal of this work was to compare clinical characteristics across immunopathologic subtypes of patients with multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Immunopathologic subtyping was performed on specimens from 547 patients with biopsy- or autopsy-confirmed CNS demyelination. CONCLUSION: All 3 immunopatterns can be detected in active lesions, although they are found less frequently later into the disease due to the lower number of active lesions. Pattern III is associated with a more fulminant initial attack than either pattern I or II. Biopsied patients appear to have similar long-term outcomes regardless of their immunopatterns. Progressive disease is less associated with the initial immunopattern and suggests convergence into a final common pathway related to the chronically denuded axon.