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Background: Identification of MS registries and databases that are currently in use in Europe as well as a detailed knowledge of their content and structure is important in order to facilitate comprehensive analysis and comparison of data., Methods: National MS registries or databases were identified by literature search, from the results of the MS Barometer 2011 and by asking 33 national MS societies. A standardized questionnaire was developed and sent to the registries' leaders, followed by telephone interviews with them., Results: Twenty registries were identified, with 13 completing the questionnaire and seven being interviewed by telephone. These registries differed widely for objectives, structure, collected data, and for patients and centres included. Despite this heterogeneity, common objectives of the registries were epidemiology (n=10), long-term therapy outcome (n=8), healthcare research (n=9) and support/basis for clinical trials (n=8). While physician-based outcome measures (EDSS) are used in all registries, data from patients' perspectives were only collected in six registries., Conclusions: The detailed information on a large number of national MS registries in Europe is a prerequisite to facilitating harmonized integration of existing data from MS registries and databases, as well as comprehensive analyses and comparison across European populations., (© The Author(s), 2014.)

Background: Increased levels of antibodies to neurofilament light protein (NF-L) in biological fluids have been found to reflect neuroinflammatory responses and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS)., Objective: To evaluate whether levels of serum antibodies against NF-L correlate with clinical variants and treatment response in MS., Methods: The autoantibody reactivity to NF-L protein was tested in serum samples from patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (n=22) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) (n=26). Two other cohorts of RRMS patients under treatment with natalizumab were analysed cross-sectionally (n=16) and longitudinally (n=24). The follow-up samples were taken at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after treatment, and the NF-L antibody levels were compared against baseline levels., Results: NF-L antibodies were higher in MS clinical groups than healthy controls and in RRMS compared to SPMS patients (p<0.001). NF-L antibody levels were lower in natalizumab treated than in untreated patients (p<0.001). In the longitudinal series, NF-L antibody levels decreased over time and a significant difference was found following 24 months of treatment compared with baseline measurements (p=0.001)., Conclusions: Drug efficacy in MS treatment indicates the potential use of monitoring the content of antibodies against the NF-L chain as a predictive biomarker of treatment response in MS., (© The Author(s) 2014.)