“A Predictive Autoantibody Signature in Multiple Sclerosis.”
Colin R. Zamecnik, et al. – UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
To identify events prior to MS onset, this study found elevated levels of serum neurofilament and autoantibodies in a cohort of patients who would later develop MS. Elevated pre-onset serum neurofilament levels indicate neuronal damage is occurring years before symptoms reach a diagnostic threshold. A subset of patients had a group of autoantibodies targeting a specific peptide motif, both before and after disease onset, that were nearly absent in control samples. The motif recognized by these autoantibodies is found in EBV, suggesting a potential mechanism for how prior EBV infection affects MS pathology. Autoantibodies targeting the same motif were found in an independent cohort, collected from patients shortly following symptom onset.
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