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The MRZ reaction as a highly specific marker of multiple sclerosis: re-evaluation and structured review of the literature

Background It has long been known that the majority of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) display an intrathecal, polyspecific humoral immune response to a broad panel of neurotropic viruses. This response has measles virus, rubella virus and varicella zoster virus as its most frequent constituen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neurology 2017-03, Vol.264 (3), p.453-466
Main Authors: Jarius, S., Eichhorn, P., Franciotta, D., Petereit, H. F., Akman-Demir, G., Wick, M., Wildemann, B.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Background It has long been known that the majority of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) display an intrathecal, polyspecific humoral immune response to a broad panel of neurotropic viruses. This response has measles virus, rubella virus and varicella zoster virus as its most frequent constituents and is thus referred to as the MRZ reaction (MRZR). Objective Re-evaluation of the specificity of MRZR as a marker of MS. Methods Structured review of the existing English-, German- and Spanish-language literature on MRZR testing, with evaluation of MRZR in a cohort of 43 unselected patients with MS and other neurological diseases as a proof of principle. Results A positive MRZ reaction, defined as a positive intrathecal response to at least two of the three viral agents, was found in 78% of MS patients but only in 3% of the controls ( p  
ISSN:0340-5354
1432-1459
DOI:10.1007/s00415-016-8360-4