title: Lipids and lipid-reactive antibodies as biomarkers for multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that targets the central nervous system (CNS). MS initially follows a relapsing-remitting course (RRMS) in which acute attacks are followed by a complete recovery. Eventually, 65% of the RRMS patients go on to develop secondary progressive MS (SPMS), characterized by the progressive and irreversible accumulation of neurological disability. It has been proposed that the transition from RRMS to SPMS results from changes in the nature of the inflammatory response and the progressive accumulation of neurodegeneration. To date, however, there is no reliable method to monitor the activity of the different immune and neurodegenerative processes that contribute to MS pathology. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers useful for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of MS patients. In this review, we discuss the potential use of lipids and the immune response against them as biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration for MS.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA. fquintana@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Quintana
authors.forename: Ada
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yeste
authors.forename: Howard L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Ruxandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Covacu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D003943:Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D008563:Membrane Lipids