New tool could help with MS screening
Doctors say tool could be helpful for patients
Posted: 09/27/2012
BALTIMORE - About 400,000 Americans have Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system. It can be debilitating and sometimes painful. Right now there are few treatment options and no cure. Diagnosing the disease is difficult, but figuring out what form of Multiple Sclerosis a patient has can be even harder. That may soon change. An experimental screening technique finds that multiple sclerosis patients have two different molecular "signatures" that reflect disease severity.
This suggests that doctors might one day use this tool to help determine who has a more aggressive form of MS and might need earlier treatment with stronger medications. The next step is to confirm their findings with another trial, which will include multiple blood tests.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
PRINT
Special Reports
-
SPECIAL REPORT | Day care inspections
SPECIAL REPORT | Thousands of child care center inspections reports are NOW AVAILABLE. Find out what inspectors founds inside day care centers across the state.
-
Inside a Criminal Mind | Jason Scott
SPECIAL REPORT | When it's out of your hands, when your life is at the mercy of an armed, masked man staring down at you from the barrel of a gun in your own home, you grasp at whatever it is you can control; breathing, composure, or faith.
-
SPECIAL REPORT | Bad Medicine
SPECIAL REPORT | ABC2 Investigator Joce Sterman has reviewed thousands of pages of documents for her Bad Medicine report.
Health
-
Sleepy teen drivers causing more crashes
It appears more and more young people may be sleepy at the wheel. A new study ties a lack of sleep to a significantly higher risk for crashes among young drivers.
-
Higher SPF not necessarily better
Sunbathers this summer will find new sunscreen labels that are designed to make the products more effective and easier to use.
-
FDA warns teens against tanning beds
If you're hoping to get a jump start on your tan this summer, the Food and Drug Administration has a warning for you.
- Stay Connected
