Abstract

The first international workshop on “Biomarkers in Multiple Sclerosis” was organized by B. Bielekova, R. Hohlfeld, R. Martin and U. Utz from April 14–16, 2004, in Washington, DC. The workshop intended to discuss the current status and potential applicability of biological markers for the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy of multiple sclerosis. The present review summarizes the presentation on the potential role of antibodies as biomarkers for diagnosis, disease activity, classification and prediction of clinical courses in multiple sclerosis.