Tear analysis in clinically isolated syndrome as new multiple sclerosis criterion

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Immunology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) diagnosis often relies on detecting oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
• CSF analysis requires an invasive lumbar puncture, posing a barrier to patient diagnosis.
• Previous research suggests OCB detection in tears may be applicable for multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the concordance between OCB detection in tears and CSF.
• To assess the potential of tear OCB analysis as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for CIS.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study including 82 patients with CIS.
• Comparison of OCB detection in CSF and tears using isoelectric focusing (IEF).
• Tear collection performed using Schirmer strips.

Main Results:

• OCBs were detected in 63.8% of CSF samples and 42% of tear samples from 69 analysable patients.
• A significant finding was that all patients with detectable OCBs in tears also had OCBs in their CSF.
• This indicates high specificity of tear OCB detection.

Conclusions:

• Tear OCB detection is a potential non-invasive biomarker for CIS.
• This method could serve as a substitute for invasive CSF analysis, simplifying MS diagnosis.
• Further research is warranted to validate tear OCB analysis as a standard diagnostic procedure.