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New Blood Test May Predict Progression of MS and Revolutionize Diagnosis
An important new study from Austria could dramatically change the diagnosis and treatment of MS. Researchers at the University of Innsbruck have reported that a rapid and inexpensive blood test for two specific antibodies that attack myelin proteins may predict the progression of MS. Not only could this information accelerate diagnosis, but it could also help to determine which patients with possible MS might benefit from early treatment.
The study, published in the July 10th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, followed 103 patients who had experienced a single clinical event-an isolated sign or symptom suggestive of MS-as well as corroborating laboratory evidence. The researchers performed a neurological examination every three months for roughly five years, and what they found was significant. Patients who possessed the two antibodies had relapses more often and earlier than those who didn't.
Strikingly, nearly all of the patients with both antibodies (21 out of 22) experienced a second neurological episode during the study period, with a mean time to relapse of seven months. Of the patients who tested positive for only one of the antibodies, more than three quarters (35 out of 42) experienced another clinical event, with a mean time to relapse of 14.6 months. But in sharp contrast, less than a quarter (9 out of 39) of those who tested negative for both antibodies experienced a relapse. Moreover, the mean time to relapse (45 months) was markedly delayed.
The study authors concluded, "Analysis of antibodies in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome is a precise method for the prediction of early conversation to clinically definite multiple sclerosis."
Clearly, this type of diagnostic information would greatly assist physicians and patients who struggle with treatment decisions given the disease's unpredictable and elusive nature. As lead author Dr. Thomas Berger told WebMD, "Patients often ask me what their prognosis is, and in most cases, I have to confess that I don't know. We can't really tell most patients how quickly their disease will progress. Something that could predict this would be of enormous value."
Further studies are necessary to replicate and confirm the results of this pioneering research. Should supporting evidence mount and a laboratory test become commercially available, the MS community may soon have a breakthrough method of answering the unanswerable question: who will relapse and who won't.
-- Courtesy Spotlight Health
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Copaxone associated with reduced frequency of MS relapses
A recent study shows Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, has positive long-term disease-modifying effects.
Ten relapsing-remitting MS patients received Copaxone treatment for up to nine years.
The drug modifies cells to allow them to enter the brain where MS attacks are occurring. It then reduces inflammation, thereby reducing the frequency of relapses. Even after six years, the drug sustained immunological effects. Researchers believe the disease-modifying immune activity may continue for up to nine years, according to the findings.
Common side effects of Copaxone are swelling, nausea, joint pain and anxiety.
"This study shows that both patients treated for only a few months, as well as those treated for six to nine years, show an increase in Copaxone-reactive Th2 cells," said Dr. Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
This study appears in the September 2002 issue of Journal of the Neurological Sciences.
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