Viral antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis and control patients: comparison between radioimmunoassay and conventional techniques.

Cerebrospinal fluid antibodies to measles, rubella, vaccinia, herpes simplex, and varicella-zoster viruses in four patient study groups (clinically definite multiple sclerosis [MS], early probable MS, optic neuritis, and control patients with other neurological diseases) were assayed by radioimmunoassay, complement fixation, hemagglutination-inhibition, or complement-enhanced plaque reduction methods. Antibodies were more frequently found and at higher dilutions by radioimmunoassay than by other techniques. Measles virus antibody, the most frequently found antibody, was present in the cerebrospinal fluid of 72% of MS patients and 5% of control patients. The differences between the numbers of MS patients and control patients with antibodies to other viruses were not as marked. Thus, 58% of MS patients versus 21% of control patients had antibody to rubella virus, 20 versus 3% had antibody to vaccinia virus, 50 versus 33% had antibody to herpes simplex virus, and 25 versus 8% had antibody to varicella virus. Sixty-seven percent of MS patients and 26% of control patients had antibodies to two or more viruses in their cerebrospinal fluid.