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First it was Neuromyelitis Optica. It was set appart from MS when anti-AQP4 antibodies were found to be specific of this kind of disease.

Then it came "anti-MOG associated encephalomyelitis". It was found that only very atypical MS could present anti-MOG antibodies, and now it is considered a separate disease.

And it has happened again. Around 2% of MS patients have auto-antibodies against a specific protein named flotillin. It seems that anti-flotilin patients will make a new different group.

https://jneuroinflammation.biomedcentra ... 017-0900-z

Conclusions: Autoantibodies against the flotillin-1/2 heterocomplex, a peripheral membrane protein that is involved in axon outgrowth and regeneration of the optic nerve, are present in 1–2% of patients with bona fide MS.

Edit: I have put the report also in the "Ethiology and pathogenesis" subforum: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/ms-etiolo ... 29183.html

Taken together, the compiled data indicate flotillin-1/2 heterocomplex as a target antigen of autoantibodies in a subset of patients with bona fide MS. More precise data regarding the time point at which anti-flotillin-1/2 is induced, and the phenotype relation and the prevalence have to be assembled in large cohorts of patients with inflammatory demyelinating CNS disorders including CIS; acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; NMOSD, each with and without ON; and isolated ON in order to discern the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic value of these autoantibodies. Furthermore, these future data will help to elucidate the pathological relevance and functional relationship of flotillin antibodies.

Do *you* have "bona fide" MS? How can you tell? Does your MS give you the ability to claim for "disease modifying" therapy? Do you care?

Thanks for the post frodo. Very interesting

-cent

1eye wrote: Do *you* have "bona fide" MS? How can you tell? Does your MS give you the ability to claim for "disease modifying" therapy? Do you care?

I would assume that they just mean that they applied the McDonalds criteria carefully enough to guarantee that the "bona fide" patients really represent a part of the MS spectrum and not an exception.

I also would like to add that of course that does not mean too much. For example, here we have some cases of "bona fide" MS that were classified as anti-MOG encephalitis after an anti-MOG test:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 017-8583-z

"MOG-Ab-related disorders comprised eight ADEM, eight ON, five isolated myelitis, four with NMOSD and two patients with multiple sclerosis, at last follow-up"