Abstract #1578

Oberndorfer T, Herbert J, Markowitz C, Rigotti D, Gonen O, Babb J

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive autoimmune disorder characterized be demyelination and neurodegeneration that affects millions of people per year worldwide. Approximately twenty percent of MS patients experience a benign disease course that is generally diagnosed only after many years of relatively no clinical symptoms. To address this issue we show that the whole-brain concentration of the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate (WBNAA) is significantly higher in patients with benign MS than not only patients with more malignant forms of MS, but also normal healthy controls. We assert that WBNAA may serve as a surrogate marker for a more timely diagnosis distinction between benign MS versus other types of MS.