Are cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers useful in predicting the prognosis of multiple sclerosis patients?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the prototypical inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). Although many advances have been made in the comprehension of its pathogenesis, the etiology is still unknown. The complexity of MS reflects in the extreme variability of the clinical manifestations and clinical course both between and within patients, in addition to immunopathological mechanisms and response to treatment. Several prognostic factors have been suggested in large scale studies, but predictions in individual cases are difficult to make. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, such as 14-3-3, tau, and cystatin C are promising sources of prognostic information with a good potential of quantitative measure, sensitivity, and reliability. However, none has shown sufficient reproducibility to be applied in clinical practice. Here we review the current literature addressing the above mentioned biomarkers as MS severity predictors at an early stage.