Measles antibody titers in multiple sclerosis patients, siblings, and controls.

Abstract

Measles titers were studied among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and carefully selected controls. The controls consisted of siblings born within three years of the patient, and lifelong friends who were brought up in the same community and attended the same schools as the patient. In addition, serum from the spouses of MS patients was tested. Our results confirm other reports that MS patients have slightly higher titers to measles antigens than unrelated controls. Siblings, however, had titers as high as those encountered among MS patients, suggesting that the elevation was a familial phenomenon. Women had higher measles titers than men among patients and controls indicating that sex was an independent variable in analysis of measles antibody levels.