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Researchers discover a new biomarker to predict the progression of multiple sclerosis
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 membranes surrounding brain lesions has been found to directly correlate with the severity and rate of disease progression. The study, led in collaboration with German and Dutch colleagues by Professor Laura Airas at the University of Turku in Finland, was published in the prestigious journal Natural 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. The results show that the broader the inflammatory...
Researchers discover a new biomarker to predict the progression of multiple sclerosis
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 membranes surrounding brain lesions has been found to directly correlate with the severity and rate of disease progression. The study, led by Professor Laura Airas at the University of Turku in Finland in collaboration with German and Dutch colleagues, was published in the prestigious journalNatural medicine.
Better targeted treatments and faster drug development
The research combined PET imaging data from 114 Finnish MS patients with post-mortemic brain tissue analysis from Dutch MS patients. The results show that the wider the inflammatory rim around a brain lesion, the more aggressive the disease progresses.
When microglial cells form a thick rim around MS lesions, their damaging activity pushes deeper into healthy brain tissue, causing irreversible damage.
This discovery allows us not only to identify patients who need more aggressive treatment sooner, but also to test the effectiveness of new drug candidates by observing changes in lesion rims. “
Professor Laura Airas, University of Turku
The results are expected to improve the development of treatments, particularly for progressive MS, the still undertreated form of the disease.
Sources:
Klotz, L.,et al. (2025). Broad rim lesions are a new pathological and imaging biomarker for rapid disease progression in multiple sclerosis. Nature Medicine. doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03625-7.