Cleveland Clinic was awarded with a $7.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health June 10 to study a new biomarker's effectiveness in diagnosing multiple sclerosis.
The study is centered on the central vein sign, an MRI-based biomarker found in MS-associated white matter lesions. Researchers seek to evaluate it as a diagnostic biomarker that can improve diagnostic accuracy since almost 20 percent of people diagnosed with MS later learn they do not have the condition.
"We aim to show that the CVS is a simple and reliable diagnostic biomarker that can be immediately translated into clinical care," Daniel Ontaneda, MD, co-leader of the study said in a news release. "We are evaluating if this sign can improve sensitivity and specificity relative to current approaches and streamline the clinical decision-making process."
The researchers plan to enroll 400 patients who are exhibiting MS symptoms for participation at 11 health centers across the U.S.