An early marker of multiple sclerosis could help doctors figure out who will eventually fall prey to the degenerative nerve disease, a new study says.
In one in 10 cases of MS, the body begins producing a distinctive set of antibodies in the blood years before symptoms start appearing, researchers reported April 19 in the journal Nature Medicine .
This antibody pattern was 100% predictive of an MS diagnosis, researchers found. Every patient who carried this set of antibodies went on to develop MS.
Researchers hope these antibodies will someday form the basis of a simple blood test to screen for MS.
“Over the last few decades, there’s been a move in the field to treat MS earlier and more aggressively with newer, more potent therapies,” said senior researcher Dr. Michael Wilson , a neurologist with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
“A diagnostic result like this makes such early intervention more likely, giving patients hope for a better life,” Wilson added in a news release.