The application of β-interferon (INF-β) in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) has achieved good results. However, the lack of effective response to INF-β treatment in nearly one-third of patients and even the worsening of symptoms in some individuals after INF-β treatment, coupled with the high cost of INF-β and the fact that it is not yet clinically clear which patients have a higher relapse rate or shorter relapse-remission interval, can make the choice of INF-β treatment doubtful for some physicians. The work of Robert Axtell et al. at Stanford University attempts to help us resolve this issue by examining the regulatory responses of cytokines involved in the TH1 and TH17 pathways to INF-β treatment in a murine model of experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) and in patients with RRMS, respectively. It was found that INF-β was able to increase IL-10 and thus alleviate the progression of TH1-induced EAE murine lesions, and conversely, application of INF-β to a TH17-induced murine EAE model decreased IL-17 levels and exacerbated symptoms, and the study also suggested that INF-β may act through the INF-γ receptor; in 26 RRMS patients treated with INF-β for 12 months Further studies of 28 serum cytokines showed that non-responders to INF-β therapy had higher serum IL-17 levels than good responders, and the researchers also found that non-responders had worse symptoms, greater doses of hormone use, a greater chance of relapse, and higher endogenous INF-β expression than good responders. Based on these studies, Axtell suggests that INF-β and TH17 may together play a dangerous repertoire of roles in some inflammatory diseases. The investigators expect to conduct expanded clinical trials to verify the biological marker significance of IL-17 in the responsiveness of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with INF-β, so that individualized treatment regimens can be identified for patients in a targeted manner. It is recommended that the clinical process of applying β-interferon in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in China has the potential to test the levels of cytokines including IL-17, observe the evolution of the disease, and accumulate relevant information based on the national population, which is believed to improve the level of our understanding of the value of INF-β therapy in multiple sclerosis, etc.