THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE NEUTROPHIL/LYMPHOCYTE, PLATELET/LYMPHOCYTE, EOSINOPHIL/LYMPHOCYTE, AND MONOCYTE/LYMPHOCYTE RATIOS AND DISEASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Objective: Multiple sclerosis primarily affects young adults. The prevalence is increasing worldwide, although the reason for this rise is not fully understood. The disease usually progresses with attacks. The diagnosis of disease activation is made clinically and by magnetic resonance imaging. Magnetic resonance imaging is an expensive and time-consuming examination. It is obvious that there is a need for an inexpensive and fast-resulting test that will aid in the diagnosis of active patients. Data from a complete blood count may be one of them.This study aimed to examine the association between disease activity in multiple sclerosis patients and the ratios of neutrophils to lymphocytes, platelets to lymphocytes, eosinophils to lymphocytes, and monocytes to lymphocytes. Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and 110 healthy controls were enrolled. Demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and duration of disease, magnetic resonance lesion characteristics, and Expanded Disability Symptom Scale results were recorded. Results: The mean neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in active patients was significantly higher compared to both the inactive disease group and the control group (p<0.001). Similarly, the mean monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio in active patients was significantly also higher compared to the control group (p=0.002). The active and inactive patients’ platelet/lymphocyte ratio values were both significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that the neutrophil/lymphocyte, platelet/lymphocyte and monocyte/lymphocyte ratios are associated with the activation of multiple sclerosis. More extensive studies with larger patient populations and healthy controls are now needed to clarify the association between serum neutrophil/lymphocyte, platelet/lymphocyte and monocyte/lymphocyte ratios and disease activity in multiple sclerosis.