VALIDATE: Factor VIII Trending for MS Relapse

The identification of blood tests that detect patients having Multiple Sclerosis (MS) relapses in real time could lead to a new era of MS relapse treatment. Accidental, anecdotal clinical observations suggest that transient upregulation of the intrinsic coagulation pathway, namely with elevated von Willebrand Factor antigen levels (vWF) and increased Factor VIII activity, occur with some MS relapses and that the higher the elevated plasma values, the more glucocorticoid therapy required to achieve clinical improvement.

Ten adult patients with relapsing remitting MS with or without secondary progression will be consented and enrolled in this longitudinal clinical trial. As a standard of care all patients will be treated daily with one gram IV solumedrol for five days, and all patients will have performed standard MRI's of the brain, cervical spine, and thoracic spine with and without IV contrast during hospital admission, which may occur after Solumedrol treatment.

In addition to this standard of care, patients will have a panel of labs drawn on Days: 1 (prior to any solumedrol treatment), 7, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 135, and 180. Neurological clinical assessments, comprising of assessing the EDSS score, the MSFC index (that looks at ambulation, hand/arm coordination, and cognitive function, comprised of the 25 foot timed walking tests, with and without any assistive devices if possible), LCSLC test, SDMT, and Neuro QoL will be conducted on Days: 1, 7, 30, 90, 180. Individual and aggregate laboratory values, neurological clinical assessment results, and MRI findings will be correlated for the presence of a MS relapse, severity of relapse, and extent of recovery from the relapse. Patients and evaluators will be blinded to the lab results.