NIH awards Cleveland Clinic $7.2M grant to investigate new MS biomarker
The Cleveland Clinic is using a recently awarded $7.2 million grant to launch a multicenter study geared toward improving multiple sclerosis diagnoses.
Specifically, the National Institutes of Health funding will help the health giant’s Center for Multiple Sclerosis determine if central vein sign (CVS) is a reliable biomarker for the debilitating disease. It’s all part of a larger effort led by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Clinical Validation of a Candidate Biomarker for Neurological Disease Program.
“Up to 20% of MS diagnoses turn out to be inaccurate,” co-principal investigator of the study, Daniel Ontaneda, MD, PhD, said in a statement. “Our new multicenter study aims to reduce that number by evaluating if this new biomarker can improve diagnostic accuracy and simplify clinical decision-making.”
The prospective study, known as CAVS-MS, will include 400 patients with typical or atypical MS from 11 North American institutions. Ontaneda, who works in Cleveland Clinic’s MS Center, and his colleague at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Nancy Sicotte, will lead the project. They both will receive additional support from the North American Imaging in MS Cooperative.
Central vein sign is an established MRI biomarker in MS-associated white matter lesions, but the team wants to show that it can be “immediately translated into clinical care.” They’re hoping the sign boosts sensitivity and specificity compared to current approaches.
That’s because there are still some diagnostic inaccuracies with MRI. According to the release, up to 1 in 5 patients diagnosed with MS via MR imaging are later shown to not have the disease.
“These initial exploratory analyses will be important to how readily positive findings about the utility of CVS criteria can impact clinical practice,” Ontaneda added. “The ultimate goal is to have the CVS incorporated into the MS diagnostic criteria.”
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.