Table 1.
Comparison of MS in humans and canine MUO.
Table 2.
Numbers of dogs included per disease category as well as prevalence of CSF-specific OCBs (≥ 2 OCBs uniquely in CSF) per disease category.
Table 3.
Median values as well as range (in brackets) of total protein (TP), total nucleated cell count (TNCC), IgG in serum and CSF per disease category.
Fig 1.
Association between IgG concentration in CSF and presence/absence of CSF-specific OCBs.
An increased IgG concentration in CSF was significantly associated with the presence of CSF-specific OCBs (p < .01). IgG = immunoglobulin G, CSF = cerebrospinal fluid, OCB = oligoclonal band, y = yes, n = no.
Fig 2.
Association between IgG concentration and TNCC.
An increased IgG concentration in CSF was significantly associated with an increased TNCC (p < .001). y = yes, n = no, CSF = cerebrospinal fluid, OCB = oligoclonal band, TNCC = total nucleated cell count.
Fig 3.
Association between presence/absence of CSF-specific OCBs and type of pleocytosis.
Presence of CSF-specific OCBs was significantly associated with a mononuclear pleocytosis (p < .001). y = yes, n = no, CSF = cerebrospinal fluid, OCB = oligoclonal band.
Fig 4.
Association between presence of CSF-specific OCBs and TNCC.
There was no association between presence of CSF-specific OCBs and increased TNCC present (p > .11). CSF = cerebrospinal fluid, OCB = oligoclonal band, y = yes, n = no, TNCC = total nucleated cell count.
Fig 5.
Immunoblot with serum and CSF samples from five canine patients (nos. 1–5) and one human MS patient (no. 6) after isoelectric focusing.
Dog no. 1 was diagnosed with intracranial neoplasia, dog no. 2 and dog no. 3 with idiopathic epilepsy, dog no. 4 with MUO, and dog no. 5 with a disease outside the CNS. CSF-specific OCBs (equivalent to pattern 2 and 3 of the described patterns in human medicine; OCBs highlighted between arrowheads) were detected in dog no. 4. The samples from the human MS patient served as positive controls. CSF = cerebrospinal fluid, MS = multiple sclerosis, MUO = meningoencephalitis of unknown origin, CNS = central nervous system, OCBs = oligoclonal bands.