BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) 10/10/2003 Doctors can finally confirm diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with lab tests. These "never before seen" type of tests were developed and recently announced by Dr. Aristo Vojdani Ph.D., M.T., of Immunosciences Lab. Inc., and the findings published in the Journal of Internal Medicine (October, 2003) www.blackwell synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/ j.1365 2796.2003.01203.x/abs/ corroborate those published by Berger et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Until recently, the unconfirmed diagnosis was always based on clinical grounds, which can vary from clinician to clinician. A costly MRI is usually the procedure used for a clinical diagnosis of MS. The challenge has been that a MRI is not specific for MS, since several diseases of the white matter of the brain present a similar picture. Cerebrospinal fluid examinations have also been used as additional support in diagnosing MS, but once again the results of this test can be characteristic of MS but not specific to it.
These tests which confirm the diagnosis of MS show the detection of a high percentage of lymphocytes reacting to neural antigen(s) and the production of a significant amount of proinflammatory cytokines along with high levels of specific antibodies against the neurologic antigens. Dr. Vojdani findings now help not only in the diagnosis but also in the follow up treatment of MS with the use of interferon B or other available remedies.
"There are many neural antigens," says Dr. Vojdani, "that form due to repeated injury to the neurons; neuron specific antigens are released in the circulation. The release of these brain antigens and an initiation of immune response against them result in antibodies in the blood of MS patients against one or many neural antigens," emphasizes Vojdani.
Dr. Vojdani explains that Immunosciences Lab. tests make it possible to culture lymphocytes and neurological antigens from patients with questionable MS. Only lymphocytes of MS patients, which possess prior memory of exposure to neural antigens in vivo, will be stimulated when they are exposed to these antigens in the test tube.
Dr. Vojdani area of expertise includes neuroimmunology of autism, immunotoxicology, and investigating the role infectious and toxic chemicals play in the development of neuroimmune disorders including MS.
CONTACT:Dr. Aristo Vojdani, 310 657 1077 www.immunoscienceslab.com or El Doran PR Elaine Doran/Suzan Crowley, 818 763 6330 eldoranpr@earthlink.net
SOURCE: Dr. Aristo Vojdani
10/10/2003 16:00 EASTERN
