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Patients with rapid recovery of CD4-positive T cells after alemtuzumab treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) are at risk for disease progression or relapse, research suggests.

The difference was apparent from 3 months after treatment, implying the potential for individualized treatment protocols based on CD4+ counts, say lead researcher Neil Robertson (Cardiff University, UK) and colleagues.

"The association between disease activity and early lymphocyte recovery is not surprising, as MS is primarily a cell-mediated disorder," they write in Neurology. "However, this relationship has not been demonstrated in vivo before."

The researchers assessed 56 patients (40 women) given alemtuzumab 12 mg daily for 5 days to treat symptoms of MS. They observed an initial "profound depletion" of lymphocyte subsets, followed by gradual recovery.

CD19+ cells were the first to recover, reaching the 25th percentile of average pretreatment levels at 3-6 months after treatment. These were followed by CD8+ cells, which reached a similar level after 6-9 months....Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1307

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