METHOD FOR DETERMINING APPLICATION OF NOVEL THERAPY TO MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) PATIENT

摘要

It is found that the therapeutic efficacy of an IL-6 inhibitor on an MS patient can be predicted by employing, as a measure, the amount of plasmablasts and/or an index of a change of immature plasmablasts (e.g., the amount of immature plasmablasts, the amount of follicular helper T cells) in an MS patient in which plasmablasts exist in a large quantity. It is also found that an IL-6 inhibitor can induce high-level expression of plasmablasts and is effective on MS in which the index of a change of immature plasmablasts is high. According to the present invention, a clinical condition of MS on which a treatment with an IL-6 inhibitor is effective can be selected, and a therapeutic method effective on an MS patient in which plasmablasts can be expressed at a high level and the index of a change of immature plasmablasts is high is provided.