Biomarker May Have Potential to Help With Diagnosis, Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

Oct. 19, 2009 -- A newly identified biomarker may be linked to the severity of multiple sclerosis and may one day help with diagnosis and treatment of the often frustrating and unpredictable disease.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord that affects more than 400,000 Americans. MS is believed to be an autoimmune disease because the body’s immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath around nerve fibers. This results in problems with nerve messages being conducted to and from the brain.

In a new study published in Nature Immunology, researchers identified short RNA molecules, known as microRNAs, that were linked to multiple sclerosis symptoms in mice, depending on their level of activity or expression. The researchers found that when expression of the microRNA called miR-326 was silenced, MS severity in mice was mild. When the microRNA expression was increased, disease severity was severe.

The researchers note that microRNAs have been linked to regulation of autoimmunity in mouse studies, but details about the specific microRNAs involved in autoimmune disease are unclear. ......full story in WebMD