Noteworthy study
Commenting on the study, Asaff Harel, MD, neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the findings in this study are “noteworthy, as there is a relative lack of effective prognostic biomarkers in the field of MS.”
“It remains to be seen whether this improves risk stratification of patients above what can be achieved by looking at other prognostic factors, such as age, gender, baseline EDSS, and severity and frequency of relapses during early disease course,” Dr. Harel cautioned.
“This was a relatively small study and further research is necessary,” Dr. Harel added. It’s also worth noting, he said, that out of the 67 patients who met criteria to be included in the study (i.e., those with blood samples taken during “early MS,” more than 15 years ago), almost half were lost to follow-up, which could potentially open the study to error.
It is also “unclear whether early NfL level is a better prognostic marker than severity of early disease course and baseline EDSS, both of which were not addressed in the study, and this will be interesting to determine in the future,” Dr. Harel commented.
Funding for the study was provided by The Ottawa Hospital Pilot Project Grant. Thebault and Harel have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
This article first appeared on Medscape.com.