Antibody May be Detectable in Blood Years Before MS Symptoms Appear

An antibody found in the blood of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be present long before the onset of the disease and its symptoms, according to a study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 2014 annual meeting. During the study, 16 healthy blood donors who were later diagnosed with MS, were compared to 16 healthy blood donors of the same age and sex who did not develop MS. Researchers looked for a specific antibody, known as KIR4.1. All of the healthy controls tested negative for KIR4.1. Of those who later developed MS, seven people tested positive for the antibody, with two who showed borderline activity and seven with negative results. However, concentrations of the antibody varied at different times during pre-MS individuals. Researchers say the next step will be to confirm their findings in a larger group, and determine how many years before onset of disease the antibody response develops. To read more about this study, click here.