Activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in multiple sclerosis: Correlations with gadolinium-enhancing lesions and ventricular volume

The known interaction between the immune system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis led us to explore the interrelation between magnetic resonance imaging findings and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in 53 multiple sclerosis patients. The cortisol release induced by the dexamethasone-corticotropin-releasing hormone test was negatively associated with the presence and number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions and positively associated with ventricular size. This finding suggests a protective effect of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal drive on acute lesional inflammation in multiple sclerosis, probably by limiting immune overshoot. In contrast, the nature of the correlation between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hyperdrive and brain atrophy remains to be determin

Ann. Neurol.

The known interaction between the immune system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis led us to explore the interrelation between magnetic resonance imaging findings and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in 53 multiple sclerosis patients. The cortisol release induced by the dexamethasone-corticotropin-releasing hormone test was negatively associated with the presence and number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions and positively associated with ventricular size. This finding suggests a protective effect of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal drive on acute lesional inflammation in multiple sclerosis, probably by limiting immune overshoot. In contrast, the nature of the correlation between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hyperdrive and brain atrophy remains to be determin

Independent replication of STAT3 association with multiple sclerosis risk in a large German case-control sample

Recent genome-wide association studies have implicated the "signal transducer and activator of transcription 3" gene (STAT3) as a putative new multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility locus. However, independent validation studies are sparse. Therefore, we performed a genetic association study of two STAT3 polymorphisms (rs744166 and rs2293152) in a large and independent German case-control sample of 5,904 subjects. We observed a nominally significant, albeit weak association between rs744166 and MS susceptibility (odds ratio = 1.09, P = 0.012) in our sample. This study supports the association between STAT3 and an increase in MS risk. Taking into account the functional role of STAT3, our results favour an involvement of T(h)17 lymphocytes in MS