[Biomarkers in multiple sclerosis]

Rev Neurol. 2013 Apr 1;56(7):375-90.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is the most frequent disabling neurological disease in young adults. Its development includes independent processes of inflammation, demyelination, neurodegeneration, gliosis and repair, which are responsible for the heterogeneity and individual variability in the expression of the disease, its prognosis and response to treatment. As part of personalised medicine, the progress made in the search for new biomarkers has identified promising candidates that may be useful for the early diagnosis of the disease, for detecting prognostic and developmental profiles of the disease, and for monitoring the response to treatment. Unfortunately, few of them have been validated adequately, which prevents them from being applied in clinical practice. In view of the latest findings, the experts recommend orienting research in another direction, not so much towards the discovery of new molecules or imaging techniques, but instead towards a clinical validation of these markers, with the aim of fostering translational research. This review offers an update on the information about the biomarkers in multiple sclerosis that have currently been validated and are thus potential candidates, as well as looking at their value in the diagnosis, prognosis, evaluation of the development of the disability caused by the disease and the response to therapy.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Age of Onset
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Blood Proteins / analysis
  • Body Fluids / chemistry
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins / analysis
  • Disability Evaluation
  • Drug Monitoring
  • Female
  • Glatiramer Acetate
  • HLA-D Antigens / analysis
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin Light Chains / urine
  • Inflammation Mediators / analysis
  • Lymphocyte Count
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Multiple Sclerosis / classification
  • Multiple Sclerosis / diagnosis
  • Multiple Sclerosis / drug therapy
  • Multiple Sclerosis / epidemiology
  • Multiple Sclerosis / metabolism*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / analysis
  • Oligoclonal Bands / analysis
  • Oligoclonal Bands / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Peptides / therapeutic use
  • Prognosis
  • Saliva / chemistry
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sex Distribution
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / drug effects
  • Tears / chemistry
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Blood Proteins
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins
  • HLA-D Antigens
  • Immunoglobulin Light Chains
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Oligoclonal Bands
  • Peptides
  • Glatiramer Acetate