New Blood Test May Make ‘Off the Rack’ MS Treatments Closer to ‘Designer Drugs’

Since the mid-1990s, the diagnosing process for most people suspected of having multiple sclerosis (MS) has included a lumbar puncture (also called a spinal tap) to look for certain antibodies and proteins, and an MRI scan to look for lesions in the brain. Previous to that, immersion into a hot tub (to see if symptoms worsened with heat) and evoked response tests may have been used. In the future, it’s possible that a test for blood biomarkers could become a standard part of the diagnostic process for MS — and it could also help to determine the best form of treatment for those diagnosed. Chemical Identifiers of MS Progression Earlier this month, Australian researchers announced they had discovered blood biomarkers of multiple sclerosis — after 12 years of research. The biomarkers not only identify the presence of MS but also help to determine a person’s stage of MS progression. While a commercial blood test using this research is not yet available, one is currently being developed. An Australian radio broadcast on the biomarker discovery gave a good sense of how the researchers see such a blood test for MS panning out. The researchers hope this type of blood testing might also prove helpful for people with motor neuron disease/ALS (known in America as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The Promise of Finding the Right Drug at the Outset The day after the news broke, I was approached by an American marketing fi...
Source: Life with MS - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: multiple sclerosis clinical trials drug trial MS treatment research Source Type: blogs