Higher blood levels of the neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein at diagnosis are predictive of worse disability over time in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a large population study from Sweden suggests. The study, “Plasma neurofilament light levels are associated with the risk of disability in…

A nerve cell protein found in the blood shows potential as a biomarker of neuroinflammation and future neurodegeneration in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The protein, called serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), is a known marker of injury to axons (nerve…

Starting treatment with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) reduces blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a potential biomarker of disease progression and activity — to varying degrees depending on the therapy used, according to a large real-world study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings support…

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) — a molecule with potent blood vessel-narrowing (vasoconstrictive) properties — may be used as a biomarker of severity for optic neuritis in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a small Italian study suggests. The molecule also may be a potential indicator of patients’ failure to recover…

#ECTRIMS2019 – Are Injectables Inappropriate for Active Relapsing MS Treatment? Injectable disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have been around for a long time. I took part in a Phase 3 clinical trial for Avonex (interferon beta-1a) in the mid-1990s. These treatments were the only game in town back then, and…

The levels of the inflammatory molecule interleukin-22 (IL-22) may be used as a potential biomarker to evaluate disease severity and the effectiveness of treatments in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study shows. The study, “Impact of interferon β-1b, interferon β-1a and fingolimod therapies on serum…

Memorial Healthcare Institute for Neurosciences and Multiple Sclerosis announced it will become the first U.S. hospital to test a nerve cell-derived component known as neurofilament light chain (NfL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Led by the Owosso, Michigan, hospital’s chief of neurology and MS director, Rany Aburashed, DO,…

Damage to nerve cells appears to occur years before people with multiple sclerosis (MS) begin to show symptoms and is evident in a likely biomarker, new data suggest. Researchers found raised levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a protein associated with nerve cell damage, in blood samples collected six years…

Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in the blood — a proposed biomarker for multiple sclerosis (MS) — is linked with worse neurologic function at levels above a certain threshold, according to data from a large, real-world study. Kathryn Fitzgerald, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of…

  Detecting changes to the brain’s central vein using common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans is a useful and accurate strategy to enhance diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. Analysis of more than 4,000 brain lesions, obtained from contrast-enhanced MRI scans collected from eight neuroimaging European…

Testing for the types of fat (lipid) molecules present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be a very useful way to diagnose and monitor the disease, a study suggests. “MS patients present a different lipid profile at the time of diagnosis” than…

Scientists identified and “fingerprinted” a group of T-helper cells that are unusually numerous in the blood and central nervous system of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and may be the reason behind the neuroinflammation seen in these patients. This T-cell population carries specific markers involved in the transmission…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) decreases the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and immune B-cells in the serum and central nervous system of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a Phase 3 trial. The research, “Ocrelizumab treatment reduced levels of neurofilament light chain and…

Quanterix is leading the research presented at this year’s American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, validating the use of neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The company…

Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) lowers the levels of the biomarker serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to data from a Phase 3 trial. Findings also revealed that higher levels of sNfL correlated with MS lesions and disease activity prior to starting the…

High blood levels of a signaling protein known as TWEAK are associated with active neuroinflammation in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. This finding suggests that TWEAK may be a valuable biomarker to assess ongoing inflammation and overall MS activity, and potentially help optimize patient care. The…

Blood levels of a nerve cell-derived component known as neurofilament light chain (NfL) could be used as a biomarker of disease severity and treatment response in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study shows. The research article, “Blood neurofilament light chain as a biomarker of MS…

A product called acrolein, which is naturally excreted by the body and possible to measure in urine and blood, may be a potential biomarker to help diagnose and evaluate disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to preliminary research in animal models and humans. Researchers are investigating whether acrolein…

Measuring the blood level of neurofilament light chain (NfL) may predict brain shrinkage in primary progressive (PPMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to a new study. The findings also show that NfL levels are associated with brain lesion load in these patients. The research, “…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels higher than a proposed threshold have a higher risk of disease activity, and worsened disability, lesions and brain shrinkage in the long term, according to a new study. The research, “Serum neurofilament light (NfL)…

A meta-analysis of 13 case-control studies shows that the levels of the protein neurofilament light chain (NFL) are significantly higher in both the cerebrospinal fluid and blood of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, compared to healthy controls. This finding adds to previous evidence supporting the usefulness of NFL as a…

The levels of three small, regulatory RNA molecules — long non-coding RNAs — are deregulated in blood samples of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. The long non-coding RNAs are involved in the regulation of the natural immune response and DNA-damage response, supporting the theory that these…

Quanterix’s ultra-sensitive Simoa assay has the potential to open new uses for the brain biomarker known as neurofilament light chain, including the possibility to detect early evidence of neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s, and ably evaluate efforts to treat and prevent them, the company…

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of neurofilament light chain, a protein associated with nerve cell damage, can predict disease progression in people with clinical isolated syndrome (CIS) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a Swedish study found. Higher levels…

Levels of neurofilament light chain are a reliable predictor of disease worsening and progression in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, a new study shows. Moreover, treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod), marketed by Novartis, can reduce the levels of NfL for up to 10 years. These findings were shared recently in the presentation “…

B-cell alterations in peripheral blood may predict the conversion of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study suggests. Conducted in Turkey, the study, “Peripheral blood memory B cell frequency predicts conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis,” was published in…

A potential biomarker — the ratio of antibody proteins in cerebrospinal fluid at the time of diagnosis — was seen to predict which  multiple sclerosis patients will progress into full-blow disability some five years after being diagnosed in a new study. If confirmed in larger clinical studies, this biomarker could to…

Research that points to a potential blood biomarker of multiple sclerosis (MS) severity, relates cognitive difficulties to patients’ employment and other measures of socioeconomic status, and one-year results of an ongoing clinical trial are among data presentations planned by Biogen for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). This year’s…

Levels of a protein stemming from brain cell damage can mirror the severity and symptoms of multiple sclerosis, an analysis of combined data from three trials showed. Researchers will present this and related findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Los Angeles, April 21-27. The…

Multiple sclerosis patients have high levels of a protein called osteopontin in their cerebrospinal fluid and blood, making it a potential tool for diagnosing the disease and predicting its course, a study suggests. The research, “Osteopontin (OPN) as a CSF and blood biomarker for multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” was published in the journal PLOS One. Researchers wanted to know if levels of osteopontin in cerebrospinal fluid and blood could be a reliable biomarker for MS. To arrive at answer, they “conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis" of studies that had measured the protein's levels in cerebrospinal fluid and blood "in MS patients and controls." The team searched for studies in three databases — PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Out of 27 that met their criteria, they used 22 in the meta-analysis. All four types of MS were represented in the studies — clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and primary progressive MS. There were three types of controls in the articles — healthy people, people with non-inflammatory neurological disorders, and people with inflammatory neurological disorders. Researchers' first observation was that all of the MS patients had higher levels of osteopontin than controls. The protein's levels were significantly higher in relapsing-remitting MS patients than in those with clinically isolated syndrome, the group with the lowest osteopontin levels. Levels were similar in the other types of MS. Patients with an active disease had significantly higher levels of the protein in their cerebrospinal fluid than those with a stable disease. The results supported previous studies' findings that osteopontin levels are higher than normal in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood of MS patients, strengthening the notion that it could be used as a biomarker for MS. “Given the fact that OPN [osteopontin] levels are higher during relapses, we think that by monitoring this biomarker,  we might be able to predict the disease course," the team wrote. "We propose that developing drugs modulating OPN concentration may be a new treatment strategy for MS."