الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Given the growingly identified role of iron in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis
(MS) during the past couple of decades, this work aimed to study the brain iron load in
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and its relation to the patients’ clinical profile and their
serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level as a biomarker of blood-brain barrier disruption.
To achieve this aim, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the MS clinic at the
department of neurology at El-Hadara University hospital in Egypt on 30 patients with
relapsing-remitting MS and 15-age and sex-matched healthy controls. The inclusion criteria
were:
1. Diagnosis of RRMS based on the 2017 revised McDonald’s
criteria for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis either on DMTs or not.
2. Patients with disease onset between 18 and 45 years.
3. Patients with stable disease course without relapses for at least one month to
exclude the effect of relapses on serum levels of MMP-9.
The exclusion criteria were:
1. Diagnosis of other MS phenotypes such as CIS, SPMS, or PPMS.
2. Diagnosis of comorbid other neurological diseases that may affect MMP-9 levels
such as cerebrovascular stroke, meningitis, encephalitis, epilepsy, brain tumors, or
Guillain-Barré syndrome.
3. Diagnosis of comorbid systemic disorders that may affect MMP-9 levels such as
rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease.