CSF ß-amyloid as a putative biomarker of disease progression in multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND Neurodegeneration plays a major role in determining disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Hence, there is increasing need to identify reliable biomarkers, which could serve as prognostic measure of disease progression. OBJECTIVES To assess whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and ß-amyloid (Aß) levels were altered in newly diagnosed MS patients and correlated with disability. Moreover, we investigated whether these CSF biomarkers associate with macroscopic brain tissue damage measures. METHODS CSF Aß and tau levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in CSF samples from 48 newly diagnosed MS patients, followed-up clinically for 3?years by recording their Expanded Disability Status Scale score at 6-month intervals, and 45 controls. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and at the end of follow-up to quantify their lesion load (LL). RESULTS CSF Aß levels were significantly reduced in patients compared to controls ( p?