MS New study claims ability to predict MS before onset...
I am skeptical of this study for several reasons, but the primary one is that if all 20 subjects were randomly chosen, then 45% eventually getting MS seems unlikely with underlying population being around 1%.
What about the study could explain this unlikely outcome? Any leads on just what biomarkers they were looking for? Is this related to the previously noted twin study comparing biomarkers?
Appreciative for any answers,
graham
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New finding paves way for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis before it strikes
news.oneindia.in
New finding paves way for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis before it strikes
Friday, April 30, 2010, 9:23 [IST]
Washington, April 30 (ANI): A breakthrough finding may lead to earlier diagnosis, more effective intervention, and perhaps even a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease
Prof. Anat Achiron of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and vice-dean of research at Sheba Medical Center has discovered a new way of detecting MS in the blood through her research at Sheba.
The findings is expected to pave the way for a diagnosis of MS before symptoms can appear, allowing for earlier treatment.
"We are not yet able to treat people with MS to prevent the onset of the disease but knowledge is power. Every time we meet a new patient exhibiting symptoms of MS, we must ask ourselves how long this has been going on. We can diagnose MS by brain MRI, but we've never been able to know how 'fresh' the disease is," Achiron said.
If doctors can predict the onset of MS early enough, intervention therapies using immunomodulatory drugs such as Copaxone or beta-interferon drugs that stave off MS symptoms, might be used.
"We theorized that if we looked at the gene expression signature of blood cells in healthy people, we could look for possible biological markers that characterize those who subsequently developed MS," said Achiron.
Examining blood samples of twenty 19-year-old Israelis who were inducted into the army as healthy soldiers, and the nine of them who later developed MS, Achiron and her team at Sheba were able to use a "high throughput analysis" using more than 12,000 gene transcripts expressions.
The screening compared similarities and differences in the blood of those who developed MS and those who did not, eventually establishing biological markers.
The study has been published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease. (ANI) |
