As multiple sclerosis (MS) progresses, the disease may reduce the number of mitochondrial DNA copies, suggesting the number of copies could serve as a biomarker for disease progression and response to treatment. That’s according to a genetic study involving data from thousands of patients of European ancestry. Mitochondria are…

Blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a biomarker of nerve cell damage used in multiple sclerosis (MS) research — are influenced by factors such as age, body mass index (BMI), and storage conditions of the blood samples, according to a recent report. Such factors may need to…

Metabolon and Cardiff University are partnering to discover new biomarkers that could help better understand disease mechanisms and develop new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). The project leverages Metabolon’s expertise in metabolomics, a field of research that measures all products of metabolism, called metabolites, that are made…

The level of proteins called kappa free light chains in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord — may be used as a diagnostic marker to identify the presence of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. Testing for…

An antibody biomarker may help to distinguish people with a disease that resembles multiple sclerosis (MS), but may actually be its own clinical disorder, according to a new study. The biomarker was present in about 1% of MS patients and in 6% of those with a related demyelinating condition…

After a relapse involving optic neuritis, or inflammation in the nerves connecting the eyes and brain, measurements of retinal thinning may predict the likelihood of full recovery from future relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The measurement could identify subclinical nerve cell damage that remains…

Taking the pregnancy hormone estriol in combination with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) significantly reduced the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a marker of nerve damage — in women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), clinical trial data show. These lower NfL levels were significantly associated with a…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with fatigue have significantly lower levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP) — a molecule involved in nerve cell function — in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) relative both to those without this common symptom and healthy people, a study shows. The CSF is the liquid…

Quanterix’s ultra-sensitive blood test that measures a biomarker of nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been granted a breakthrough device designation by U.S. regulators. It is thought that the test, which employs the company’s Simoa technology, can accurately predict the risk of disease activity in…

Serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — proteins found in nerve cell projections — can help in the prediction of disease progression among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of data from two large Phase 3 trials. The researchers said that NfL…

Administering the stem cell therapy NG-01 — designed to have neuroprotective and neuro-regenerative properties — directly into the spinal canal can significantly reduce the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a neuronal damage biomarker, in people with active, progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). These are the new…

Levels of a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood can be used to predict the risk of future disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The results also suggest that changes in NfL levels could be used to deduce the extent…

Larger declines with treatment in blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of nerve cell damage, are associated with fewer brain lesions, less brain shrinkage, and lower relapse rates in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reported. These results, based on a post-hoc analysis…

Lower blood levels of vitamin D binding protein, known as VDBP, were observed in newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in a new study — findings that suggest the protein could potentially act as a biomarker for the neurodegenerative disease. “The…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Among people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) without active disease, high blood levels of the…

Measurements of the thickness of the eye’s retina — the layer of nerve cells lining the back of the eye — could be used to predict disability progression and relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a real-world study from Austria suggests. “Our study shows that both crossectional and…

NurOwn cell therapy led to significant improvements in the physical abilities, vision, and cognition of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial, top-line data show. In addition to these positive efficacy results, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, NurOwn’s developer, announced that its cell-based therapy showed…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. Higher blood levels of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) were linked with disability, brain atrophy, and other features of…

The levels of KIF5A protein are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord — of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and, further, are correlated with disease progression measures in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), a new study shows. These…

People with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) have significantly higher levels of a nerve injury-induced protein, called SERPINA3, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than do those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and those without the neurodegenerative disease, a study shows. Of note, the CSF is the liquid that bathes…

Researchers from the Kessler Foundation will launch a new study investigating the effects of Tysabri (natalizumab) on cognitive fatigue — the type of fatigue that happens after strong mental concentration, such as in problem-solving — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue, which is very…

Levels of myelin sheath components called ceramides are altered in the blood of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be linked with retinal degeneration and physical disability, a study has found.  Specific ceramides were altered only in those with progressive…

The levels of a protein called Neuregulin-1 beta 1 (Nrg-1beta1) decline with the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. The findings support the potential of Nrg-1beta1 as a predictor of MS risk and progression and suggest that restoring its levels may help halt disease…

Lower levels of pro-inflammatory immune signaling proteins were found in the blood of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) and were associated with fewer relapses and less disability, a study has found.

The levels of the protein neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood when a person experiences a first demyelinating event associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) can predict brain atrophy up to a decade later, a new study shows. Titled “Association of Serum Neurofilament Light Levels…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $2.3 million grant to a bioengineer at Indiana University’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering to improve diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The project aims to find ways to detect disease-associated cells based on their ability…

Inflammatory lesions within the brain, called paramagnetic rim lesions, visible on imaging scans may improve the accuracy of a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, especially when used in combination with other imaging-based biomarkers, a  study reported. If corroborated in larger future studies, these white matter lesions may serve as an early…

Levels of a protein linked to inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) — called chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) — may prove to be a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker of neurologic disability in primary progressive MS (PPMS), a pilot study suggests. Higher CHI3L1 levels at PPMS diagnosis showed a…

The thickness of two layers of nerve cells forming the back of the eye, or retina, can be used to distinguish patients with progressing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) from those with stable disease, a study suggests. The study, “Macular ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer…

High levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein circulating in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at an early stage of the disease are linked to higher disability and faster disease progression, a study has found. According to researchers, these findings suggest that NfL — a…