Research Article
Free Light Chains and Intrathecal B Cells Activity in Multiple Sclerosis: A Prospective Study and Meta-Analysis
Table 2
Demographics and standard CSF characteristics of the patient groups.
| | Characteristic | MS () | CIS () | Other inflammatory diseases () | Noninflammatory diseases () | |
| | Age, median (IQ range) | 37.4 (27.8–46.3) | 28.5 (24.4–43.0) | 53.0 (46.8–64.7) | 46.9 (41.8–62.9) | <0.001 | | Gender | | | | | | | Females, number (%) | 21 (61.8) | 17 (77.3) | 12 (52.2) | 15 (71.4) | ns | | Males, number (%) | 13 (38.2) | 5 (22.7) | 11 (47.8) | 6 (28.6) | | | CSF-restricted oligoclonal bands | | | | | | | Negative, number (%) | 7 (20.6) | 9 (41.0) | 19 (82.6) | 19 (90.5) | <0.001 | | Positive, number (%) | 27 (79.4) | 13 (59.0) | 4 (17.4) | 2 (9.5) | | | Link index, median (IQ range) | 0.6 (0.6–0.8) | 0.6 (0.4–0.7) | 0.5 (0.4–0.5) | 0.5 (0.5–0.6) | <0.001 | | Tourtellotte index, median (IQ range) | 1.7 (−2.2–5.2) | −1.7 (−4.5–1.1) | −3.0 (−3.8–0.7) | −1.9 (−2.8–0.9) | <0.001 | | Reiber IgG, median (IQ range) | −0.1 (−0.5–0.7) | −0.4 (−1.1–0.0) | −1.0 (−1.9–0.5) | −1.0 (−1.7–0.7) | <0.001 | | Qalb, median (IQ range) | 5.1 (4.1–6.2) | 4.2 (3.4–5.2) | 7.0 (5.0–9.9) | 7.1 (5.2–9.8) | <0.001 |
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