الفهرس 
Multiple SclerosisOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease with various clinical subtypes. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls and serum concentrations have been shown to reflect CSF levels. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Subjects and methods: This case-control study involved 45 RRMS patients; 21 in relapse and 24 in remission, and 45 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at inpatient ward and outpatient clinic of Neurology Department of Ain Shams University hospitals and the serum levels of GFAP were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results: Patients in relapse showed higher serum concentration of GFAP than that of patients in remission and this result was highly significantly different (p = 0.000). ROC curve of serum GFAP demonstrated at cut off point >200 pg/ml, it yielded a sensitivity of 76% being in relapse and specificity of 82%.
Conclusion: GFAP biomarker is an indicator of disease activity in RRMS patients and its serum level may correlate with the state of disease activity.