Simple blood test that could revolutionise care for patients with multiple sclerosis and prevent disability By Luke Chafer Published: 18:19 EDT, 21 September 2024 | Updated: 18:29 EDT, 21 September 2024 e-mail View comments A simple blood test could revolutionise care for patients with multiple sclerosis and prevent disability, according to research. Markers in the blood can predict how the disease will develop and what drugs will be effective, the study found. MS is a debilitating condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and leaves people with mobility issues, memory loss and fatigue.
There are two main types of MS: relapsing remitting, in which symptoms flare and subside for periods, and primary progressive, in which there are no periods of remission and symptoms worsen steadily, leaving the suffering disabled. Many patients with relapsing remitting MS develop the primary progressive form. Markers in the blood can predict how the disease will develop and what drugs will be effective, the study found.
(Stock image) MS is a debilitating condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and leaves people with mobility issues, memory loss and fatigue. (Stock image) The findings could benefit the 130,000 people who live with MS in the UK, and the nearly 7,000 people who are newly diagnosed each year. (Stock image) Read More I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 33 and Parkinson's disease 15 years later There is no cure but some treatment can slow progression .