Serum lactate as a novel potential biomarker in multiple sclerosis

• Published in: Biochimica et biophysica acta 2014-07, Vol.1842 (7), p.1137-1143
• Main Authors: Amorini, Angela M., Nociti, Viviana, Petzold, Axel, Gasperini, Claudio, Quartuccio, Esmeralda, Lazzarino, Giacomo, Di Pietro, Valentina, Belli, Antonio, Signoretti, Stefano, Vagnozzi, Roberto, Lazzarino, Giuseppe, Tavazzi, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biomarkers - blood; Case-Control Studies; Clinical disability; Disease Progression; Energy penalty; Female; Humans; Lactates - blood; Male; Middle Aged; Mitochondria - pathology; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - blood; Multiple Sclerosis - pathology; Neurodegenerative Diseases - blood; Neurodegenerative Diseases - pathology; Serum lactate
• ISSN: 0925-4439; 0006-3002; 1879-260X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2014.04.005

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a primary inflammatory demyelinating disease associated with a probably secondary progressive neurodegenerative component. Impaired mitochondrial functioning has been hypothesized to drive neurodegeneration and to cause increased anaerobic metabolism in MS. The aim of our multicentre study was to determine whether MS patients had values of circulating lactate different from those of controls. Patients (n=613) were recruited, assessed for disability and clinically classified (relapsing–remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive) at the Catholic University of Rome, Italy (n=281), at the MS Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands (n=158) and at the S. Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Rome, Italy (n=174). Serum lactate levels were quantified spectrophotometrically with the analyst being blinded to all clinical information. In patients with MS serum lactate was three times higher (3.04±1.26mmol/l) than that of healthy controls (1.09±0.25mmol/l, p