Journal of Multiple Sclerosis

Sustained Disease-Activity-Free Status in a Woman with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Antiretroviral Therapy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

Maulucci Francesco, Schluep Myriam and Granziera Cristina

A negative association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Infection and multiple sclerosis (MS) is expected, as MS pathogenesis is triggered by auto-reactive T-cells, which are depressed in case of HIV Infection. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that HIV-Infected MS patients may benefit from antiretroviral therapy.

We report the case of a woman suffering from relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) who contracted HIV-1 Infection while she was treated with low-dose interferon (IFN) beta-1a since five years. With combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in addition to IFN beta-1a, the patient had normal CD4+ cell counts, undetectable viral load, and no more clinical and radiological evidence of MS activity.

The reason why HIV Infection has a protective role for developing MS, and how antiretroviral therapy is effective in modifying MS course are intriguing questions which need further investigations.