MS Blood Test

[sashaming1]

Yesterday my Neurologist took a blood sample to get a baseline test so that future tests can see if my MS goes up is stable or goes down. I've not heard of this before.

[kdali]

Me either, find out what it is called! I'm excited to learn more.

[sashaming1 in reply to kdali]

I dont know if its this or not:

"A simple blood test into multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology could speed MS diagnostics and ultimately improve patient care, according to Xiaoli Yu, PhD, senior author of a new study on plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody aggregates.

Yu’s research team used a procedure that offered 90% accuracy in identifying MS biomarkers in plasma. The test’s accuracy offers a path to monitoring patient response to different therapies and could inform future treatment decisions, said Yu, an associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The blood-test study recently published in Clinical Immunology is a sister study to the team’s discovery – published in Cell Death & Disease – that MS-specific IgG in the blood forms into large aggregates that are toxic to neurons."

[Humbrd in reply to sashaming1]

You mentioned the IgG. I had an in-depth blood test last year and it showed positive for Ana IgG and positive for anti-Ro60 IgG. It was used and help determining my diagnosis of sjogren's syndrome. Do you think that these are the same tests that they are using for the progression of multiple sclerosis?

[sashaming1 in reply to Humbrd]

Ana IgG maybe, anti-Ro60 IgG no, from what I saw in an internet search.

[sashaming1 in reply to kdali]

OK, here is another one:

Test helps predict worsening MS disability

For this study, Drs. Green and Abdelhak and their team analyzed data from about 1,900 people with multiple sclerosis. Of that number, about 570 were classified with a disability that continued to worsen, with the majority independent of relapses.

A relapse — also called a flare-up — happens when new symptoms occur, or old symptoms worsen.

Researchers found that elevated NfL levels were associated with up to a 91% higher risk of worsening disability with relapse about a year later. Elevated NfL levels were linked to a 49% increased risk of worsening disability without relapse nearly two years later.

Dr. Green said they were shocked by both findings, especially their magnitude and how long in advance they could see changes.

“First, we think relapses in MS are a relatively acute event that occurs over a few days. Traditionally we have thought that the immune system inappropriately gets turned on and attacks a small local area in the brain, optic nerve, or spinal cord,” he continued.

“However, this work suggests there are things happening either locally at the site of the future relapse or more globally across the brain that show damage to nerve fibers before people with MS will develop permanent disability following a relapse. This process is critical for us to understand as it may suggest a paradigm shift in the way we think about relapses resulting in permanent disability specifically and MS injury in general,” Dr. Abdelhak added.

“In the [MS] patients with progression but without relapses the changes were happening even earlier — which gives us the potential that there is time to do things that might reverse or stop progression.”

— Dr. Ahmed Abdelhak

Biomarker could help with MS prevention

After reviewing this study, Dr. Lana Zhovtis Ryerson, research director at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center – Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center, told MNT it is very exciting to see a biomarker that can predict disability one to two years before occurrence.

“This is a biomarker that we are starting to monitor in our clinic and provides evidence that longitudinal monitoring of this data point can make a difference in our patient population,” Dr. Ryerson continued.

[BettysMom]

I'm reasonably sure that the test he is doing is the Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) test which reflects the degree of neuro-axonal damage.

[sashaming1 in reply to BettysMom]

Thanks for the info!

[erash]

I had the octave MS bio marker test done on Wednesday. It includes NFL and others and supposedly helps identify progression and active disease. Awaiting results.

[erash in reply to erash]

here

octavebio.com/our-solution/...

[sashaming1 in reply to erash]

Thanks for the info!

[mrsmike9]

In 2014, when I was diagnosed, right after my lumbar puncture a technician was sent in to take some blood. Never thought anything about it.

[sashaming1 in reply to mrsmike9]

Thanks for the info!

[Frances_B in reply to mrsmike9]

The blood you had taken when your lumbar puncture was done won't be anything to do with what sashaming1 is referring to - especially as the LP and blood tests were being done as part of a diagnostic process for what turned out in your case to be MS. Normal LP tests for helping to diagnose MS and some other conditions require comparison with a blood sample taken at the same time - without the blood being tested as well the levels of some substances can't be compared between the two samples so the lumbar puncture result may be not be usable for a diagnosis.

[mrsmike9 in reply to Frances_B]

Interesting! I had no idea why they took it. Doctors are always wanting blood from me. Sometimes I know what they're checking on, and sometimes I don't.

[Mark1499]

For the life of me I can’t wrap my brain around why they told you this!🤷

[sashaming1 in reply to Mark1499]

Who is they? I got my information from websites that I trust.

[Frances_B in reply to sashaming1]

Why not just ask your neuro about the whats and whys and wherefores - much better than looking on websites - even if they are ones you trust.

[sashaming1 in reply to Frances_B]

I asked the question to see if anyone else knew about this and could share their experiences with this - if any.

[Mark1499 in reply to sashaming1]

I was referring to your neurologist taking blood to check your MS. You made no reference to a trusted website so why did you even ask the question? Must have been something in a previous post Look, I just didn’t understand why they were drawing blood!

[sashaming1 in reply to Mark1499]

Yes my previous posts include the reasons why. But I asked the question to see if anyone else knew about this and could share their experiences with this - if any.

[Mark1499 in reply to sashaming1]

Why were they taking blood? Never heard of this.

[sashaming1 in reply to Mark1499]

I asked the question to see if anyone else knew about this and could share their experiences with this - if any.

[Mark1499 in reply to sashaming1]

I thought maybe your research may have given you some insights.

[sashaming1 in reply to Mark1499]

Only that there is a reason for taking my blood to monitor MS progression.