Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with neuroimmunological disorders and analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
| Neuroimmunological patients | α-CD20 | control | p-values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of subjects | 22 | 23 | ||
| gender | female | 18 | 18 | |
| male | 4 | 5 | ||
| age [years] | mean (min. - max.) | 45 (18-69) | 42 (17-69) | |
| α-CD20 treatment duration [months] | mean (min. - max.) | 15 (2-47) | n.a. | |
| disorder | MS/CIS | 8 | 22 | |
| NMO | 11 | 1 | ||
| Myasthenia gravis | 2 | 0 | ||
| autoimmune neuropathy | 1 | 0 | ||
| CD19+ of all PBMCs | [mean % +/- SEM] | 0.2 (+/-0.1) | 7.9 (+/-1.1) | <0.0001 |
| CD4+ of all PBMCs | " | 37.7 (+/-2.5) | 35.9 (+/-1.5) | 0.420 |
| CD8+ of all PBMCs | " | 16.8 (+/-1.8) | 15.5 (+/-1.1) | 0.768 |
| CD14+ of all PBMCs | " | 22.3 (+/-2.5) | 16.4 (+/-1.4) | 0.159 |
| CD4+ of all CD4+/CD8+ | " | 69.2 (+/-2.2) | 69.8 (+/-1.9) | 0.803 |
| CD4+ of all CD4+/CD8+/CD14+ | " | 48.6 (+/-2.9) | 53.2 (+/-2.0) | 0.271 |
| CD8+ of all CD4+/CD8+/CD14+ | " | 21.3 (+/-2.0) | 22.9 (+/-1.5) | 0.370 |
| CD14+ of all CD4+/CD8+/CD14+ | " | 30.0 (+/-3.7) | 23.9 (+/-2.1) | 0.163 |
| CD25+ CD127- of all CD4+ | [median % with 20/80% percentile] | 6.8 (5.5-8.4) | 5.2 (4.3-6.8) | 0.022 |
Anti-CD20-treated and untreated (control) patients were age- and sex-matched. Frequencies of leucocyte subpopulations are indicated as percentage of all peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and as percentage of CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ or CD14+CD4+/CD8+ PBMCs to "normalize" for treatment-related absence of B-cells. MS = multiple sclerosis; CIS = clinically isolated syndrome; NMO = neuromyelitis optica.