Inventors:
Douglas Bigwood - Medison CT, US
Eric Eastman - Hihgland MD, US
Eric Kaldjian - Ann Arbor MI, US
Assignee:
ORE PHARMACEUTICALS , INC. - Gaithersburg MA
International Classification:
C12Q 1/68
Abstract:
The present invention provides a method for evaluating multiple sclerosis (MS), or excluding MS as a diagnosis for a patient The method comprises determining a gene expression profile for a sample from such a patient. The gene expression profile, which contains gene expression values for a plurality of genes that are differentially expressed in white blood cells of MS patients, is compared to an MS-profile and/or a non-MS profile, and classified. The invention also provides a method for monitoring treatment of an MS patient Pre-treatment and post-treatment gene expression profiles contain gene expression values for a plurality of genes that are differentially expressed upon treatment of MS patients. The expression profiles may then be compared, to identify differences between pre-treatment and post-treatment gene expression. These differences are indicative of the patient's response to treatment The invention further provides kits and systems for performing the methods of the invention.