Blood markers detect nerve damage in MS at an early stage
Published: Monday, Nov 6th 2023, 17:21
Updated At: Tuesday, Nov 7th 2023, 00:54
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A blood marker detects nerve damage in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) more than two years before it occurs. According to the researchers, this discovery by a research team led by the University of Basel is crucial for the long-term success of treatment.
In people with MS, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, deterioration of the condition often occurs in relapses, as was reported on Monday in a press release from the Research Center for Neuroimmunology and Neurosciences at the University Hospital Basel.
As the individual course of the disease is difficult to predict, it is difficult to adapt the treatment to the individual patient in a timely manner. Early detection of deterioration, known as progression in technical jargon, is therefore important, the researchers emphasized in the press release.
Large amount of data
The study published on Monday in the journal "Jama Neurology" picked up on this point. The scientists from the University of California San Francisco (USA) and the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Cohort (SMSC), led by the University of Basel, analyzed long-term data from around 13,000 patient visits and blood samples.
They found a sharp increase in light chain neurofilaments (NfL) in the blood serum between 12 and 26 months before the onset of gradual deterioration. NfL are proteins that occur in the neurons of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
Counteract damage
By the time the deterioration occurred, the blood levels no longer differed from patients with stable disease progression, as the study showed. This suggests that the measurements indicate the actual nerve damage earlier than the physical examination.
Future investigations will focus on attempts to counteract damage to the central nervous system by starting treatment early or with future therapies, the press release stated.
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