July 18, 2023 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD RRMS patients with high chloride levels may be at more relapse risk Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with elevated levels of chloride in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, may be at a higher risk of relapse, according to a study from China. Researchers propose that CSF chloride levels equal to or higher than 123.2…
August 5, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New 3D Brain Map May Help in Disease Management: Study A team of researchers has created a three-dimensional (3D) map of the lymphatic vessels that drain the brain, and demonstrated that these vessels are organized similarly in mice and in humans. The researchers propose measuring these vessels using MRI scans could “allow longitudinal imaging of disease progression that may be…
July 8, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Levels of Certain Inflammatory Proteins May Predict Risk of Relapse Levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid around the brain and spinal cord, may help predict the risk of relapse activity for individuals with early multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. High levels of three such proteins were predictive of a greater risk of…
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…
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…
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 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 25, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Abundant T-helper Cells Evident in MS Patients May Cause Inflammation, Study Reports 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…
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…
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…
July 24, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD Cerebrospinal Fluid Neurofilament Predicts CIS and RRMS Progression, Study Contends 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…
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…
July 13, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Steroid Use Lowers Oxidative Stress in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Progressive MS Patients in Pilot Study AĀ pilot study inĀ patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) found a steroid treatmentĀ of benefit by decreasingĀ oxidative stressĀ in theĀ cerebrospinal fluid. The study, āOne-time intrathecal triamcinolone acetonide application alters the redox potential in cerebrospinal fluid of progressive multiple sclerosis patients: a pilot study,ā was published in the journalĀ …