Antibody may be detectable in blood years before MS symptoms appear
Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 06:30
in Health & Medicine
An antibody found in the blood of people with multiple sclerosis may be present long before the onset of the disease and its symptoms, according to a study. For the study, 16 healthy blood donors who were later diagnosed with MS were compared to 16 healthy blood donors of the same age and sex who did not develop MS. Scientists looked for a specific antibody to KIR4.1. Samples were collected between two and nine months before the first symptoms of MS appeared. KIR4.1 antibodies were found in the people with pre-clinical MS several years before the first clinical attack.