ARE THERE ANY BODY-FLUID MARKERS OF BRAIN ATROPHY IN MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS

The weak correlation between inflammatory activity and disease Progres sion in patients with multiple sclerosis has shifted the emphasis from inflammatory monitoring to the investigation of the pathological proc esses of demyelination, axonal loss, and gliosis. New magnetic resonan ce imaging (MRI) techniques that have been developed to measure these processes appear very promising. This paper will briefly discuss poten tial body fluid markers of axonal loss, gliosis and demyelination, as the Pathological substrates of brain atrophy, their function and the p rinciples behind their future study in patients with multiple sclerosi s.