altered serum cytokine profiles in relapse phase of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

background: multiple sclerosis (ms) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and cytokines may play a role in the development of ms lesions. objective: to determine levels of different cytokines in patients with relapsing-remitting ms (rr-ms) compared to healthy controls. methods: profiles of pro-inflammatory, th1-, th2-, and th17-related cytokines were compared by quantitative multiplexed elisa-based chemiluminescent assay in 44 rr-ms and 44 healthy age- and sex-matched individuals from the same ethnicity. results: among pro-inflammatory cytokines, the levels of il-6 (p=0.003), il-8 (p=0.05) and tnf-α (p=0.002) were higher in patients than controls, though il-4 and il-10 as well as σth2 cytokines were lower in patients (p=0.05, p=0.02 and p=0.05, respectively). after gender classification, the higher levels of il-4 in male patients remained significant and il-13 also showed significantly higher levels in male patients compared to male controls (p=0.003 and p=0.05, respectively). a significant negative correlation was detected between edss and il-10 or σth2 levels (p=0.005). in addition, il-1α (r=0.4, p=0.05) and ifn-γ (r=0.35, p=0.05) were also directly correlated with edss in female patients. conclusions: patients with rr‑ms who are in the relapse clinical phase exhibit higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduction in protective th2-related cytokines.