SERUM NITROTYROSINE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS - RELATIONSHIP WITH CLINICAL ACTIVITY

We have assayed levels of nitrotyrosine, one of the products of peroxy nitrate (ONOO-), in the sera of 20 controls and 14 patients with multi ple sclerosis (MS). These were in different stages of clinical activit y: seven with clinical remission (RR) (clinically inactive) and seven with chronic progressive (CP) disease (four active and three inactive) . The levels of nitrotyrosine were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) i n MS patients (112.79 +/- 33.24 ng/ml) than in the controls (20.0 +/- 8.0 ng/ml). The highest increase (155.6 +/- 18.3 ng/ml) was in active chronic progressors (PC A) and these values were significantly higher than in RR patients (91.7 +/- 25.7 ng/ml, P < 0.0001) and inactive CF (117.5 +/- 9.2 ng/ml, P < 0.05) patients. Serum nitrotyrosine levels a re raised considerably in MS patients and they may vary with the stage and activity of the disease. Future studies should ascertain the impo rtance of serum peroxynitrate formation in MS. (C) 1998 Lippincott-Rav en Publishers.