Effects of combination therapy of beta-interferon 1a and prednisone on serum immunologic markers in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Beta-interferon (beta-IFN) has a proven treatment effect on relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), presumably through its regulatory properties on T-cell activation and cytokine production. This paper examines whether combination therapy of beta-IFN with prednisone would enhance immunoregulatory effects of beta-IFN by measuring serum levels of selected proinflammatory cytokines and soluble T-cell activation markers associated with MS. The selected markers were analyzed in MS patients treated with beta-IFN alone (n = 22) and beta-IFN combined with a low daily dose of prednisone (n = 33), as compared with those in 27 healthy controls at baseline and at a three-month interval for one year. The study confirmed that beta-IFN treatment inhibited serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in patients with MS. However, combination therapy did not significantly enhance the inhibitory effect of beta-IFN treatment on the production of TNFalpha, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-2R, and ICAM-1, while the addition of prednisone antagonized the effect of beta-IFN on up-regulation of IL-10 and soluble CD95. No difference in the occurrence of binding antibodies to beta-IFN was found between the two treatment groups. The findings are important for the understanding of the role of combination therapy in the treatment of MS.