BACKGROUND Type I interferons (IFNs) are common therapeutics for several diseases, including viral infections and multiple sclerosis (MS). Although numerous studies have implicated type I INFs with the production of autoantibodies and the development of certain autoimmune disorders, interferon beta has not previously been described in association with dermatomyositis, to our knowledge. Previous...

Radioiodinated recombinant human beta-interferon (rHuIFN beta Ser), with almost full (greater than 90%) biological activity, was used to study the binding of human beta-interferon to Daudi cells. Specific binding was not observed with less biologically active (less than or equal to 10%) radioiodinated interferon. The bound radioiodinated interferon was shown to compete with human beta-interfero...

BACKGROUND Interferon beta is 1 of 2 first-line treatments for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). However, not all patients respond to interferon beta therapy, and to date there is a lack of surrogate markers that reliably correlate with responsiveness to interferon beta therapy in MS. OBJECTIVE To identify allelic variants that influence response to interferon beta therapy in patie...

Depression and suicide have been reported in association with multiple sclerosis (MS). Some studies show that interferon beta may increase the depression rate. We report a case of depression and suicidal ideation in coincidence with the start of increased doses of interferon beta-1a and their complete reversal following the drug withdrawal. The patient was a 21-year-old man with MS and no past ...

Interferon-beta is widely used for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. The drug is usually well tolerated, but autoimmune adverse effects, including kidney disease, have been reported. Only a few cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome-thrombotic microangiopathy associated interferon-alpha have been described so far, and even fewer with beta-interferon. We report a patient who developed t...

BACKGROUND Interferon inhibitory activity (IIA) is a logical candidate for explaining neutralizing antibody-negative partial responsiveness to interferon beta in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its role has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of IIA and soluble interferon-alpha/beta receptor (sIFNR) in determining response of patients with MS to interferon beta therapy. DESIG...

BACKGROUND Interferon beta is used to modify the course of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite interferon beta therapy, many patients have relapses. Natalizumab, an alpha4 integrin antagonist, appeared to be safe and effective alone and when added to interferon beta-1a in preliminary studies. METHODS We randomly assigned 1171 patients who, despite interferon beta-1a therapy, had had at leas...

Evidence exists for a potential modulation of inflammasome activity by interferon beta. Here, we investigated the roles of inflammasomes [absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2); NLR family, CARD domain containing 4 (NLRC4); NLR family, pyrin domain containing 1 and 3 (NLRP1 and NLRP3)] and related cytokines (IL1B, IL10, IL18) in the response to interferon beta in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple...

BACKGROUND In the Betaseron/Betaferon in Newly Emerging Multiple Sclerosis for Initial Treatment (BENEFIT) study, interferon beta-1b delayed conversion to multiple sclerosis in patients with a first clinical event and at least 2 clinically silent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions. OBJECTIVE To examine detailed MRI findings from the first 2 years of this trial. DESIGN Double-bli...