We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Blood Test Shows Worsening Disability in MS Patients 1 to 2 Years before Occurrence

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 07 Nov 2023
Print article
Image: MS patients whose blood tests reveal elevated NfL could see worsening disability one to two years later (Photo courtesy of 123RF)
Image: MS patients whose blood tests reveal elevated NfL could see worsening disability one to two years later (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Globally, multiple sclerosis (MS) affects millions of individuals. In its more severe stages, it can significantly impair movement and cause muscle stiffness, diminished strength, coordination issues, and loss of bladder control. However recent developments indicate that these intense symptoms can be significantly postponed or possibly prevented. Now, a new study has revealed that MS patients with higher levels of NfL, a marker indicating nerve cell damage in the blood, could face worsening disability within the following one to two years.

The study led by researchers at University of California San Francisco (San Francisco, CA, USA) is the first to measure the period before there is a notable decline in ability, during which damage to the brain and spinal cord occurs in MS patients. The researchers examined the incidence of increased disability, defined as six months or more of rising impairment reflected in a higher score on the Expanded Disability Status Scale. They distinguished between the worsening of disability associated with a relapse—characterized by lingering symptoms or the resurgence of previous ones—and the steady advancement of symptoms without a relapse.

In their analysis, the team examined data spanning more than a decade from around 4,000 visits by patients to UCSF, part of the EPIC study, and roughly 9,000 visits from multiple locations in Switzerland, as part of the SMSC study. These studies encompassed close to 1,900 individuals. Out of these, 570 patients were identified as having progressively worsening disability, with the larger number experiencing this independent of relapses. The findings linked high NfL levels with an up to 91% increased likelihood of disability that intensified with a relapse about a year later, and an up to 49% increased likelihood of disability progression without a relapse nearly two years later. The researchers are now focusing on future research to identify treatments that can halt this progression during the time when NfL levels are elevated.

“In addition to the groundbreaking findings on the temporal relationship between NfL increases and gradual disease progression in MS, the study supports the important role of NfL as an early marker of nerve damage,” said Jens Kuhle, MD, PhD. “Monitoring NfL levels might be able to detect disease activity with higher sensitivity than clinical exam or conventional imaging.”

Related Links:
UC San Francisco

Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Piezoelectric Micropump
Disc Pump
New
Gold Member
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Test
hCG Quantitative - R012

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The ready-to-use DUB enzyme assay kits accelerate routine DUB activity assays without compromising data quality (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.