Summary: Researchers have identified a new biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS): the thickness of the inflammatory rim surrounding brain lesions predicts how quickly and severely the disease progresses. By combining PET imaging and post-mortem brain analysis, the study showed that thicker rims lead to more aggressive brain damage.
This discovery could enable earlier identification of patients needing intensive treatment and help assess the effectiveness of new therapies. The findings offer new hope for advancing treatment development, especially for progressive forms of MS.
Key Facts:
- Predictive Marker: Thicker inflammatory rims around brain lesions indicate faster, more severe MS progression.
- Early Intervention: Identifying aggressive cases early could improve patient outcomes with targeted treatments.
- Drug Development: Lesion rim measurements can help evaluate new MS drug candidates more effectively.
Source: University of Turku
Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, have discovered a new biomarker that can predict the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).
The thickness of the inflammatory cell rim surrounding brain lesions was found to directly correlate with the severity and speed of disease progression.
The study, led at the University of Turku in Finland by Professor Laura Airas in collaboration with German and Dutch colleagues, has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.
Better targeted treatments and faster drug development
The research combined PET imaging data from 114 Finnish MS patients with post-mortem brain tissue analysis from Dutch MS patients. Results show that the wider the inflammatory rim around a brain lesion is, the more aggressively the disease advances.
“When microglial cells form a thick rim around MS lesions, their harmful activity pushes deeper into healthy brain tissue, causing irreversible damage,” says Professor Laura Airas.
“This discovery allows us not only to identify patients who need more aggressive treatment earlier but also to evaluate the effectiveness of new drug candidates by observing changes in lesion rims.”
The findings are expected to improve the development of treatments particularly for progressive MS, the yet undertreated form of the disease.
About this multiple sclerosis research news
Author: Tuomas Koivula
Source: University of Turku
Contact: Tuomas Koivula – University of Turku
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Broad rim lesions are a new pathological and imaging biomarker for rapid disease progression in multiple sclerosis” by Laura Airas et al. Nature Medicine
Abstract
Broad rim lesions are a new pathological and imaging biomarker for rapid disease progression in multiple sclerosis
Current multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments reduce relapse activity but have limited impact on disease progression. Clinical trials targeting progression often fail because of insufficient understanding of its underlying mechanisms.
This study analyzed a clinically well-characterized MS autopsy cohort from the Netherland Brain Bank (186 individuals) from which we selected donors exhibiting opposite disease trajectories of slow versus rapid progression.
We performed extensive unbiased histology and spatial transcriptomics, which unveiled a distinct MS lesion type marked by an extensive myeloid cell rim with cellular and transcriptional signatures of innate immune activation, inflammatory cytokine production, unfolded protein response and apoptosis.
Presence of this particular lesion type was linked to rapid disease progression.
An independent translocator protein 18-kDa positron emission tomography study (114 individuals) validates the association between lesions with a broad myeloid cell rim and disease progression in individuals with MS.
Our findings offer crucial insights into the mechanisms behind MS progression, identifying broad rim lesions as a biomarker for rapid disease progression and potentially guiding patient selection for future therapeutic trials targeting central nervous system intrinsic inflammation.
