Association Between Hematological Inflammatory Markers and Attack Period in Multiple Sclerosis: Retrospective Study

Abstract

Objective: The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios (NLR) and monocyte/lymphocyte ratios (MLR) reported as predictive markers for some clinical features of multiple sclerosis (MS). These inflammatory markers might differ during an MS attack where inflammation is expected to be most prominent in the clinical course. We aimed to investigate the NLR, MLR, and platelet/lymphocyte ratios (PLR) during the attack and non-attack periods in MS patients. Material and Methods: The medical records of MS patients that were treated for an acute MS attack in the last 3 years were reviewed. Fifty patients who met the inclusion criteria in the cohort were included into the present study. In all cases, NLR, MLR and PLR from 2 samples of complete blood counts (that were obtained during an attack before methylprednisolone treatment and at least 1 month after the first blood sample) were calculated and compared and also were evaluated according to laboratory and clinical parameters. Results: NLR values were similar in attack and non-attack periods. However, MLR and PLR values were found to be lower during attack (p=0.008, p=0.012, respectively). MLR and PLR were significantly lower during the attack period in the cases who admitted within 7 days (p=0.048, p=0.023, respectively), whereas, only MLR values were lower in the cases who admitted later (p=0.037). Conclusion: NLR does not seem as a useful biomarker for differentiating an MS attack. MLR and PLR values revealed some differences concerning the admission day. It might worth to investigate if MLR and PLR are dynamic and useful biomarkers in MS attacks in further prospective studies.