Testing For MOG
Discovered there may be a blood test in the works to test for me.
Researchers in Austria have studied a simple blood test that identifies serum antibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and myelin basic protein (MBP) - substances that are damaged during MS disease activity.
See, MOG. Aside from that obvious play on words, it is exciting there may be a blood test in the works that would be a better indication of whether a person has MS or not. Mind you, one has to have had one attack before it is of value. See.
The investigation involved 103 participants with a clinically isolated syndrome and positive results with MRI and CSF analysis. Of the 22 individuals who had antibodies against both MOG and MBP, 21 (or 95 percent) experienced a relapse eight months later, on average. Of the 39 who were negative on both antibodies, only nine (23 percent) had a relapse, and on average, this occurred almost four years later. The third group of 42 people had positive readings for the MOG antibody only, and 35 of them (83 percent) had a relapse after a little more than a year, on average.
Where does that leave me? I have one documented attack and a couple three years of symptoms I have been ignoring or writing off. Would be interesting to see what the test showed.
