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Neurology International
Volume 17
Issue 8
10.3390/neurolint17080119
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Characterization of QuantiFERON-TB-Plus Results in Patients with Tuberculosis Infection and Multiple Sclerosis

by
Elisa Petruccioli
1,
Luca Prosperini
2,
Serena Ruggieri
2,
Valentina Vanini
1,3,
Andrea Salmi
1,
Gilda Cuzzi
1,
Simonetta Galgani
2,
Shalom Haggiag
2,
Carla Tortorella
2,
Gabriella Parisi
4,
Alfio D’Agostino
4,
Gina Gualano
5,
Fabrizio Palmieri
5,
Claudio Gasperini
2 and
Delia Goletti
1,*
1
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
2
Department of Neurosciences, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, 00152 Rome, Italy
3
Unità Operativa Semplice (UOS) Professioni Sanitarie Tecniche, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
4
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Virology, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, 00152 Rome, Italy
5
Respiratory Infectious Diseases Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani-IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Neurol. Int. 2025, 17(8), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint17080119 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 June 2025 / Revised: 16 July 2025 / Accepted: 25 July 2025 / Published: 2 August 2025
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Background: Disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) slightly increase the risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease. The QuantiFERON-TB-Plus (QFT-Plus) test is approved for TB infection (TBI) screening. Currently, there are no data available regarding the characterization of QFT-Plus response in patients with MS. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the magnitude of QFT-Plus responses between patients with MS and TBI (MS-TBI) and TBI subjects without MS (NON-MS-TBI). Additionally, discordant responses to TB1/TB2 stimulation were documented. Results were evaluated considering demographic and clinical data, particularly the impact of DMDs and the type of TB exposure. Methods: Patients with MS (N = 810) were screened for TBI (2018–2023). Thirty (3.7%) had an MS-TBI diagnosis, and 20 were recruited for the study. As a control group, we enrolled 106 NON-MS-TBI. Results: MS-TBI showed significantly lower IFN-γ production in response to TB1 (p = 0.01) and TB2 stimulation (p = 0.02) compared to NON-MS-TBI. The 30% of TB2 results of MS-TBI fell into the QFT-Plus grey zone (0.2–0.7 IU/mL). Only 7% of NON-MS-TBI showed this profile (p = 0.002). Conclusions: MS-TBI had a lower QFT-Plus response and more borderline results compared to NON-MS-TBI. Future studies should clarify the significance of the borderline results in this vulnerable population to improve QFT-Plus accuracy regarding sensitivity, specificity, and TB prediction.
Keywords: QFT-Plus; IFN-γ; multiple sclerosis; MS; tuberculosis QFT-Plus; IFN-γ; multiple sclerosis; MS; tuberculosis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Petruccioli, E.; Prosperini, L.; Ruggieri, S.; Vanini, V.; Salmi, A.; Cuzzi, G.; Galgani, S.; Haggiag, S.; Tortorella, C.; Parisi, G.; et al. Characterization of QuantiFERON-TB-Plus Results in Patients with Tuberculosis Infection and Multiple Sclerosis. Neurol. Int. 2025, 17, 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint17080119

AMA Style

Petruccioli E, Prosperini L, Ruggieri S, Vanini V, Salmi A, Cuzzi G, Galgani S, Haggiag S, Tortorella C, Parisi G, et al. Characterization of QuantiFERON-TB-Plus Results in Patients with Tuberculosis Infection and Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology International. 2025; 17(8):119. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint17080119

Chicago/Turabian Style

Petruccioli, Elisa, Luca Prosperini, Serena Ruggieri, Valentina Vanini, Andrea Salmi, Gilda Cuzzi, Simonetta Galgani, Shalom Haggiag, Carla Tortorella, Gabriella Parisi, and et al. 2025. "Characterization of QuantiFERON-TB-Plus Results in Patients with Tuberculosis Infection and Multiple Sclerosis" Neurology International 17, no. 8: 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint17080119

APA Style

Petruccioli, E., Prosperini, L., Ruggieri, S., Vanini, V., Salmi, A., Cuzzi, G., Galgani, S., Haggiag, S., Tortorella, C., Parisi, G., D’Agostino, A., Gualano, G., Palmieri, F., Gasperini, C., & Goletti, D. (2025). Characterization of QuantiFERON-TB-Plus Results in Patients with Tuberculosis Infection and Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology International, 17(8), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint17080119

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