TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS - AN OPEN TRIAL WITH MONOCLONAL ANTI-T-CD4 ANTIBODIES

Twenty-one patients with active multiple sclerosis (16 progressive and 5 recurrent forms) were treated with murine monoclonal anti-T CD4/BF5 antibodies in an open trial. Tolerance was relatively good; 11 patien ts had side effects including facial swellings, skin eruptions and tre mbling which occurred only at the first infusion. Treatment had to be stopped in one female patient. Nine months after initiating treatment, no relapse had occurred in any of the 5 patients with a recurrent for m and improvement was observed in 3 patients with a progressive form. A t the end of the treatment period, there was a clear drop in the num ber of CD3+ cells and particularly in CD4+ cells, a decrease which was less after one month. All the patients who had side effects showed an increased level of serum IL6 and alpha TNF. These findings demonstrat e that this type of long-term treatment is possible in patients with m ultiple sclerosis and suggest that in another trial it would be import ant to evaluate the effect in recurrent forms.