Kantor Rami, Bakhanashvili Mary, Achiron Anat
Division of Infectious Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
Neurology. 2003 Jul 22;61(2):238-40. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000069921.20347.9e.
The authors investigated the association between Delta32CCR5, a mutated allele of the chemokine receptor CCR5, and disease progression in 256 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The mutated allele frequency in the study cohort was 7.4%, similar to that reported in the general Israeli population. Progression to disability was prolonged in Delta32CCR5 homozygotes and heterozygotes compared with MS patients with the CCR5 wild-type genotype (p < 0.005). Mutated CCR5 allele may be considered a favorable prognostic factor in MS.