Fig. 1

Different types of biomarkers in multiple sclerosis: Diagnostic biomarkers are used to confirm the diagnosis of MS. A test used to diagnose a disease often measures a type of biomarker called a “surrogate.” Diagnostic biomarkers may facilitate earlier detection of a disorder than can be achieved by other approaches. A prognostic biomarker helps to indicate how a disease may develop in an individual when a disorder is already diagnosed. The presence or absence of a prognostic marker can be useful for the selection of patients for treatment but does not directly predict the response to a treatment. This is more specified by the predictive biomarker which helps to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from a specific treatment option. Predictive diagnostics can provide information about how well a treatment is likely to work in a particular patient or about the likelihood of that treatment causing an unwanted side effect. For prognosis and prediction, disease activity biomarkers comprise biomarkers to measure inflammatory and/or neurodegenerative components of disease. For personalized MS treatment, treatment-response biomarkers could be helpful to differentiate patients regarding their outcome related to efficacy and side effects (treatment responders and non-responders as well as patients with and without adverse drug reactions). In addition, these treatment-response markers could be applicable for all treatments or be specific for a specific treatment only