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Differences in the pathological subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS) can predict the response to therapeutic plasma-exchange, a treatment that may restore neurological function after acute MS attacks, say researchers here.

Only patients whose MS lesions have evidence of antibody deposition or complement activation are likely to benefit from therapeutic plasma exchange, reported Claudia Lucchinetti, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic and colleagues in the August 13 issue of The Lancet.

"The new findings may partly explain why some patients respond to a particular treatment and others do not," Dr. Lucchinetti said. "The biological basis for the variable response to current MS treatments is not well understood. It may be that not all MS patients form lesions in the same way and therefore would not be expected to respond to a given treatment the same. Thus, MS treatments may need to be more individualized and tailored for different types of patients."