Aaron Boster

It's doing an old school neuro exam.

You know, the neuro exam dates back to, you know, ancient Chinese history, and it's a really inaccurate thing.

Now, in the 80s, this machine came out, which was really exciting, and it's called the MRI.

And it's a completely revolutionized diagnosis.

It became gospel in 2001, and it's been revised to make it easier and faster and faster to use the MRI to make a quick diagnosis.

And so we get an MRI of the brain and the spine.

And if we see spots in certain locations, we can diagnose MS right there.

If not, then we can old school wait for another attack, which is never the goal.

We can repeat the scans at intervals looking for new spots, or we can depend upon a lumbar puncture, spinal tap.

Now, if you're listening in Europe, most people across the pond, they're all tapped.

Here in the United States, that happens a lot less frequently, but you can see changes on the spinal tap on the CSF, which would then help cinch a diagnosis.

We have desperately needed better biomarkers in the field of multiple sclerosis now for some time.

Now a biomarker is simply a measurement which teaches us something about the human being.

And the most common biomarker in the MS space has been and continues to be the MRI.

So we're getting a picture of brain and spine structure.

There's a test which has been developed and now been validated in several very well done trials, which is a blood test.

And a high number on this test correlates with concern for disease activity, particularly on the MRI.

A low number suggests disease stability.

Now, this test is approved by the American FDA.

It's starting to be increasingly used in MS consultations.