Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and disabling disease where the immune system attacks the nervous system. The most common type is relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), which is managed with disease modifying therapies. Such therapies reduce the inflammatory activity by weakening the immune system. However, such weakening may cause undesirable side effects.
It is therefore important to treat person with MS as little as possible but as much as necessary at the right time. Unfortunately, “tailor-made” treatment strategies for each individual do not currently exist. This could be achieved with regular measurements of nerve components in the blood, so-called neurofilaments. Neurofilaments indicate very precisely the damage to nerve cells caused by the disease and thus indicating disease activity. Intensive disease montioring of neurofilaments may be instrumental in personalized treatment adaptations.