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Study Shows Glycominds Test May Predict Active Multiple Sclerosis

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 September 2005, 03:01 CDT

Prof. Mark Freedman of the University of Ottawa will present at the conference the initial results of a landmark study that successfully predicted impending disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using technology developed by Glycominds Ltd.

For the first time researchers have shown that it is possible to predict, using a blood test, whether or not a patient will imminently develop an active form of MS, after the first neurological event.

"Neurologists have been struggling with a decision to initiate or not disease modifying therapy after only a single attack of what might be MS," said Prof. Mark Freedman, the principal investigator of the study known as PRACTIMS (Prognosis and Response of Anti-Carbohydrate Titer In MS). "Knowing at this earliest timepoint that a patient is destined to develop active disease would greatly assist this decision," he added.

The MS predictor test is a simple blood test based on novel biomarkers to indicate the likely course of a patient's condition.

The study results show that the Glycominds technology was able to correctly predict the future course of the disease in patients, on the basis of retrospective blood samples taken from 90 patients after their first neurological event.

The Glycominds test correctly identified in advance the 36 percent of patients who later on suffered additional clinical events in the two year period following their first symptoms.

Currently, doctors are unable to tell if a patient who has suffered a single neurological event will develop a mild or active form of the devastating disease. Consequently many people who do not require treatment, find themselves on life-long therapy regimens which may be expensive, cause adverse side effects and leave them in a perpetual state of anxiety. At the same time, many MS patients do not receive the more aggressive therapeutic intervention they may require because doctors are uncertain of whether they will continue to have an active disease.

"Glycominds next plans to validate externally these results on thousands of retroactive patient samples and to bring this product to market during 2006," said Avinoam Dukler, CEO of Glycominds.

The dramatic results of the current study have been judged important enough to be included as part of the "late-breaking news" section on Oct. 1 of a major scientific conference, the 21st Congress of the European Committee for the Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis taking place in Thessaloniki, 28 September - 1 October 2005.

Multiple Sclerosis: Background

Multiple Sclerosis is the second most common cause of neurological disability in young adults, generally during their late 20's and 30's, and striking twice as many women as men. The nature of the disability, its extent, and the speed of progression can vary greatly from person to person. A reliable and validated test for disease staging and monitoring does not currently exist.

Some patients with MS initially present with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) but the course of the disease is unpredictable at its onset. The disease may progress rapidly or remain inactive for many years. A simple serological test that predicts whether patients with a CIS suggestive of MS or newly diagnosed relapsing remitting MS patients will have a highly active or more benign disease course would enable patients to receive the appropriate treatment sooner.

About Glycominds

Since being founded in 1999, Glycominds has developed a portfolio of complementary technologies which enable the reliable and accurate study of sugar biomarkers. The company's IBDX(TM) kits, a series of blood tests for Crohn's Disease differential diagnosis has received the CE MARK and was recently launched in Europe.

For more information visit www.glycominds.com

Source: Business Wire

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