Multiple Sclerosis

Learn how GFAP testing is emerging as a biomarker to support diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis in neurological diseases.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ MS testing cascade, which starts with kappa free light chain (KFLC) testing and reflexes to oligoclonal banding when indicated, is supported by the revised 2024 McDonald Criteria. This approach delivers faster, more definitive results, enabling earlier treatment decisions and improved patient outcomes.

In this presentation, Eoin Flanagan, M.B., B.Ch., a leading specialist in neuroimmunology at Mayo Clinic, provides a clear and clinically focused overview of autoimmune conditions that affect the developing nervous system.

September 29, 2025 - This session provides an in depth overview of evolving diagnostic approaches in neuroimmunology.

By using a test that measures neurofilament light chain (Nfl) proteins in blood, clinicians can better diagnose devastating diseases like ALS and MS, help predict disease progression, and better assess efficacy of existing drugs and trial therapies.

In this test-specific episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, and Bjorn Oskarsson, M.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus, discuss how the neurofilament light chain test available through Mayo Clinic Laboratories helps physicians diagnose neurological disease and assess neuronal damage.

Alicia Algeciras, Ph.D., describes Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ new blood test to detect NFLC, or neurofilament light chain protein. NFLC is a biomarker for several neurodegenerative conditions. The new assay can determine if a patient’s cognitive decline is due to a neurodegenerative condition or some other, reversible condition — while avoiding the need for more-invasive testing of cerebrospinal fluid.