Original Article(s)
25 March 2025
Vol. 13 (2025)
Multiple sclerosis diagnosis: free light chain testing as a possible valuable marker in cerebrospinal fluid
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Background: the aim of the study was to assess the importance of free light-chain analysis in the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) for the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in patients visited at the General Hospital of Alessandria.
Materials and Methods: detecting κFLC and λFLC levels in CSF and serum using Freelite tests on Optilite analyser (The Binding Site) and Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) on Hydrasis 2 analyser (Sebia). Statistical analysis was conducted by GraphPad statistical software and Excel statistical tools. Calculation of p-value by Kruskal-Wallis test and χ2 test. Evaluation of the Free Light Chain (FLC) indices’ performance through the construction of a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve.
Results: 132 CSF and serum samples were collected, and 25% of the patients were diagnosed with MS. Through the ROC analysis, the optimal cut-off value was found to be 6,56 for the K index, 10,12 for the λ index, and 0,65 for the IgG index. FLC indices were higher in MS patients than in others.
Conclusions: the study shows that the K index has an equivalent reliability and a higher predictive value, but with lower costs and times than Oligoclonal Bands (OCB). The λ index could have the potential to become a further test used for differential diagnosis of MS, but more in-depth studies via more sensitive techniques are needed to evaluate real performance.
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How to Cite
Multiple sclerosis diagnosis: free light chain testing as a possible valuable marker in cerebrospinal fluid. (2025). Working Paper of Public Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2025.9947
Copyright (c) 2025 Cristina Montarolo, Lara Calcagno, Simona Martinotti, Filippo Erli, Antonio Covelli, Fabiana Vercellino, Elia Ranzato, Iacopo Megna
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
