There is evidence that higher CCL18 plasma levels are associated with more severe inflammatory and neurodegenerative brain MRI outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS). This according to a study that investigated associations of CCL18, CCL5, and sCD86 with clinical and MRI measures in MS patients. Plasma levels of CCL18, CCL5, and sCD86 were evaluated in 138 MS patients (85 relapsing-remitting, RR-MS; 53 progressive, P-MS), and in 42 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (HI). All subjects underwent standardized 3T MRI and clinical examinations. Linear regression analysis of MRI outcomes as dependent variables was performed with age, gender, having P-MS, and plasma proteins as predictor variables. Researchers found:

• Higher CCL18 plasma levels were found in P-MS (median=51.5, IQR=41.0-63.6 ng/mL) compared to RR-MS (median=43.0, IQR=29.1-55.0 ng/mL) and to HI (median=41.3, IQR=30.9-54.1 ng/mL).
• Disease-modifying treatments altered CCL5 and sCD86 levels.
• Higher CCL18 levels were associated with increased lateral ventricular volume and T2 lesion volume, and decreased grey matter, thalamic, and cortical volumes.