Biomarker development and discovery have been an important point in multiple sclerosis (MS) research for many years. Neurofilament light (NfL) is one of the most promising candidates currently under investigation. However, NfL is elevated in other neurodegenerative disorders besides MS, and it is also confounded by age, body mass index, and blood volume. Other blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of axonal damage, neuronal damage, glial dysfunction, demyelination, and inflammation have been studied as actionable biomarkers for MS and have provided insight into the pathology underlying the disease process.

In this podcast, Elias Sotirchos, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; Ferhan Qureshi, VP – Biomarker Product Development, Octave, Menlo Park, CA; and Shane Arsenault, MD, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada, discuss recent updates on the development and validation of biomarkers that can predict disability progression, monitor ongoing disease activity, and assess treatment response.