Increased Endothelin-1 Plasma Levels in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

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Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that the plasma level of endothelin-1 (ET-1) is increased in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The peptide ET-1 is one of the most potent known vasoconstrictors. An increased level of endothelin could explain some of the vascular symptoms of these patients. A specific radioimmunoassay was used to determine ET-1 plasma levels. Twenty patients with MS were compared to 20 age-and sex-pair-matched healthy subjects. The plasma ET-1 levels were, on average, 224% higher in the patients with MS than in the controls (p The plasma ET-1 level is markedly and significantly increased in patients with MS. Neither the cause of such an increase nor the pathogenetic role is known.