title: Biological markers in body fluids for activity and progression in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Reliable biological markers in body fluids for disease activity and progression are important for our understanding of the pathophysiology and therapeutic decisions in various subtypes of multiple sclerosis. Sampling from body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid, blood, and urine constitutes the problem that the local immuno-inflammatory process takes place in the central nervous system whereas the disease activity is only to some extent reflected in the systemic immune compartment. Promising results have been obtained in studies of adhesion molecules, pro-inflammatory cytokines, co-stimulatory molecules and neopterin as markers of disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. However, these results apply to groups of patients but not necessarily to individual patients. Currently no single body fluid marker is sufficiently correlated to disease activity to be used in the individual patient in monitoring disease activity, progression, or therapeutic effects.
authors.affiliation: MS Research Unit, The NeuroScience Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sørensen
mesh_terms: D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000032:analysis; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology; D016482:Urinalysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016207:Cytokines