February 27, 2024 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Stem cell therapy for MS seen to lower mitochondrial DNA in study People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have higher amounts of mitochondrial DNA in their spinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord, than do their healthy counterparts, a small study found. Mitochondria are small cellular organelles that produce most of the energy needed to power cells. These cell powerhouses…
November 25, 2022 News by Patricia Valerio, PhD More Inflammation Biomarkers in Spinal Fluid of PPMS Patients: Study Individuals with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) have significantly higher concentrations of specific inflammation biomarkers in their spinal fluid than healthy people, an exploratory study shows. For most biomarkers, levels in PPMS patients were comparable to or lower than those seen in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
July 20, 2022 News by Vanda Pinto, PhD Accessible NfL Blood Test Developed for Neurodegenerative Conditions Labcorp has launched a widely accessible test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, to screen for signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The test is performed on a standard blood sample taken at a hospital, at the…
June 3, 2022 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Study Ties Antinuclear AntibodiesĀ to Inflammation, Relapses The presence of self-reactive antibodies, typically seen in autoimmune diseases like scleroderma, may be common among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). That finding from a small study indicates high levels of these antinuclear antibodies were correlated with relapse status and ongoing inflammation in MS. The study, āAntinuclear…
May 11, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Low Levels of APP Molecule Found in Patients With MS-related Fatigue Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with fatigue have significantly lower levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP) ā a molecule involved in nerve cell function ā in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) relative both to those without this common symptom and healthy people, a study shows. The CSF is the liquid…
January 11, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS High Levels of Gut Bacterial Toxins Found in Spinal Fluid of MS Patients People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have high levels of toxic compounds made by gut bacteria in the fluid around their brain and spinal cord, a study found. “This work not only furthers our understanding of the role of gut-brain communication in neurodegenerative disease progression, but also provides a potential…
November 3, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD No Link Found Between Vitamin D Levels, Age at First MS Symptoms There is no link between serum vitamin D levels and the age at which an individual develops the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new observational study suggests. However, a link was found between cerebrospinal fluid antibody levels, serum vitamin D levels, and the age at first MS…
June 23, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD High Free Light Chains Levels May Indicate Sooner Second Relapse High levels of kappa-free light chains, or kappa-FLC, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ā the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord ā may help identify people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) who will progress sooner to multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. Overall, those with a high…
June 16, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Data on T-cell Repertoire May Help in Understanding MS Development T-cells in the fluid around the brain share a large percentage of receptors among different multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a new report suggests. Better understanding the diversity of T-cell receptors in MS, and how these cells vary in different parts of the body, could be useful in understanding the…
February 26, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2021 – Young Brain Fluid (CSF) Rejuvenates Memory in Mice Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25-27. GoĀ hereĀ to see all the latest stories from the conference. Factors in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord change with age and can affect…
February 11, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD KIF5A Protein Levels in CSF May Act as Biomarker of Progressive MS The levels of KIF5A protein are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ā the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord ā 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…
January 22, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD SERPINA3 Nerve Injury-induced Protein May Be Biomarker of PPMS 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…
November 9, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Monitoring Fluctuations in Brain Volume May Help Track RRMS Disease Progression The brain volume of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) undergoes a dynamic cycle of enlargement and contractions, a new study shows. Patients with a lower volume (contractions) had less severe MS and a shorter disease duration, the study found. Overall, these findings suggest that frequent monitoring of the…
September 3, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Targeting B-cells in Cerebrospinal Fluid May Lead to More Effective MS Therapies, Study Suggests Immune B-cellsĀ are more abundant and have a pro-inflammatory profile in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, Ā compared to blood in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. The results suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting the CSF B-cells could constitute a…
April 30, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD New Nanosensor May Help to Diagnose MS at Early Stages A new tiny sensor is able to detect antibodies against myelin,Ā the protective coating of nerve cell axons whose destruction is a hallmark ofĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), potentially allowing for a diagnosis in early disease stages, researchers report. It also offers the possibility of distinguishing multiple sclerosis from neuromyelitis optica, a…
February 20, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Bone Marrow Transplant Can Replace Overactive Immune Cells, Preventing Inflammation in MS, Study Says A bone marrow transplant can remove the majority of overactive immune T cells from the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), allowing the body to replace them with healthy ones, a study has found. This opens up new treatment avenues to…
February 4, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Cerebrospinal Fluid of MS Patients More Diverse and Filled with Pro-Inflammatory Cells, Study Shows People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a more diverse set of immune cells in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, but no such diversity is seen in their blood, a study reports. Instead, MS causes changes in the activation of immune cells in…
October 22, 2019 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Endothelin-1 a Potential Biomarker of Severity and Recovery from Optic Neuritis in MS, Study Suggests Endothelin-1 (ET-1) ā a molecule with potent blood vessel-narrowing (vasoconstrictive) properties ā 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…
October 2, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Profiling Inflammatory Markers in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Importance in Active MS, Case Study Finds Careful profiling of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of multiple sclerosis patients, coupled with standard exams and scans, helps in understanding disease evolution and treatment response, a case report suggests. It followed aĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patient whose inflammatory markers in the CSF remained high over time, and…
July 18, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Specific Lipids in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Progressive MS Patients Rob Neurons of Energy, Study Finds The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) contains elevated levels of specific fatty molecules that disrupt the energy “powerhouses” of nerve cells, and appear to underlie the neurodegeneration seen on brain scans of these patients, a study reveals. The research, which compared the CSF…
March 4, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein #ACTRIMS2019 – Cerebrospinal Fluid, Meninges Inflammation Profile Can Stratify MS Patients A method based on cerebrospinal fluid measurements and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can aid in stratifying patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the time of diagnosis, which may help identify a tailored therapeutic approach for each patient from early disease stages. The data was presented by Roberta Magliozzi, from…
September 20, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Lymphatic Vessels of Brain Carry Messages That Appear to Promote MS, Study Reports Lymphatic vessels, the āroadsā that work to clear waste material from the brain, can also carry messages that direct immune system attacks against myelin, promoting the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS), new study shows. While the identity of these messages remains unknown, the findings suggest that blocking these signals could…
September 5, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Higher Levels of Neurofilament Light Chain in Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Found in MS Patients, Supporting its Prognostic Potential 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 findingĀ adds to previous evidence supporting the usefulness of NFL as a…
August 31, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Cell-free Mitochondrial DNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Progressive MS Patients May Point to Neurodegeneration Cerebrospinal fluid of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may carry lower levels of cell-free mitochondrial DNA, according to a team of researchers who say this may be a sign ofĀ neurodegeneration among these patients. The study āCell-free mitochondrial DNA in progressive multiple sclerosisā was published in the journal Mitochondrion.
June 7, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Atrophy of Brain Lesions Predicts Disability in MS, 10-year Study Finds Atrophy (shrinkage) of brain lesions correlates with physical disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), new research reports. The study, āAtrophied Brain Lesion Volume: A New Imaging Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis,ā was published in theĀ Journal of Neuroimaging. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are used routinely on MS patients…
May 14, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Biomarker in Cerebrospinal Fluid Seen to Predict MS Progression in Study A potentialĀ biomarker ā the ratio of antibody proteins in cerebrospinal fluid at the time of diagnosis ā was seen to predict which Ā 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…
April 18, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #AAN2018 – Ocrevus Decreases Biomarkers of MS Patients’ Nerve Cell Damage, Phase 3 Trial Shows Genentech’sĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)Ā reduces levels of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers that denote nerve cell damage in multiple sclerosis patients, a Phase 3 clinical trial shows. Researchers will present the results at theĀ American Academy of Neurology’s annual meetingĀ in Los Angeles, April 21-27. The presentation will be titled āInterim Analysis of the…
January 24, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD MS Patients’ High Osteopontin Protein Levels Make It a Potential Biomarker for the Disorder, Study Reports 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, āOsteopontin (OPN) as a CSF and blood biomarker for multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis,ā was published in the journal PLOS One. Researchers wanted to know if levels of osteopontin inĀ cerebrospinal fluid and bloodĀ could be a reliable biomarker for MS. To arrive at answer, they āconducted 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 ā 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 ā clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and primary progressive MS. There were three types of controls in the articlesĀ ā 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. āGiven the fact that OPN [osteopontin] levels are higher during relapses, we think that by monitoring this biomarker, Ā 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."
January 19, 2018 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS Patients with Brain and Spinal Nerve Pain Have High Levels of a Protein, Study Finds Multiple sclerosis patients with central nervous system pain have high levels of a protein known as nerve growth factor in their cerebrospinal fluid, a study shows. The research, āNerve growth factor is elevated in the CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis and central neuropathic pain,ā was published…
June 7, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Ocrevus Phase 3 Trial Will Explore How Treatment Works by Viewing Changes in Spinal Fluid Already an approved treatment for relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is still undergoingĀ scrutiny in several clinical trials. MostĀ focus on the drugās effects in specific patient groups, but one studyĀ aims to advanceĀ understanding ofĀ how Ocrevus works to harness disease. To do so, the open-label Phase 3…