A test for MS...Are we there yet?

Wow you said a new study that shows a simple test that can detect MS,

Hailing from “Gods own Country”, I thought I would Investigate

The local Huddersfield rag (Newspaper) says

“They have worked out how it can be detected using a simple blood test - up to now the only way to diagnose the disease has been through an invasive and often painful process of collecting fluid from the brain and spine”.

So already you know the newspaper is already talking rubbish and giving you visions of needles in the head.

A lumbar puncture is not the typical diagnostic test these days and it is certainly not diagnostic as many conditions have oligoclonal bands. Importantly let’s not forget the good old magnetic resonance imaging machine for spotting those lesions. This is far more diagnostic.

Michael I. Page MI, McHugh P, Powles NT. Sphingosine and dihydrosphingosine as biomarkers for multiple sclerosis identified by metabolomic profiling using coupled UPLC-MS. Analytical Methods 2017.

The project aim was to identify differences in the metabolomic profiles in the serum of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), those with neuropathic pain (NP) and those with both MS and NP compared with controls and to identify potential biomarkers of each disease state. Metabolomic profiling was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and the data analysis involved parametric methods, principal component analysis, and discriminating filter analysis to determine the differences between disease and control serum samples. Sphingosine and dihydrosphingosine were identified as significant biomarkers.