Multiple Sclerosis: kFLC index values related to gender.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The identification of biomarkers with good diagnostic and prognostic power is of great importance for monitoring and treating MS patients.

METHODS: We analyzed serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 228 patients, with different neurological disorders and with MS to confirm our previous results and determine a possible gender difference of kFLC Index cut-off.

RESULTS: We have obtained a kFLC Index cut-off of 12.5 (100% specificity and 90.4% sensitivity) and 11 (100% specificity and 97.5% sensitivity) for women and men with MS respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: This study reinforces the importance that kFLC Index could have as a diagnostic aid to detect MS. Our data highlight a difference in the cut-off of the kFLC Index calculated by gender; male patients with a kFLC Index value greater than 11 are at higher risk to develop MS respect females having the same result.