Are there any body fluid markers of brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis?

Abstract

The weak correlation between inflammatory activity and disease progression in patients with multiple sclerosis has shifted the emphasis from inflammatory monitoring to the investigation of the pathological processes of demyelination, axonal loss, and gliosis. New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that have been developed to measure these processes appear very promising. This paper will briefly discuss potential body fluid markers of axonal loss, gliosis and demyelination, as the pathological substrates of brain atrophy, their function and the principles behind their future study in patients with multiple sclerosis.