The research involved comparing 2,538 proteins from the brains of people with MS with the same proteins from brains of people who did not have MS using special protein screening technology and identifying proteins involved in MS, particularly in the different types of lesion in the central nervous system of people with MS.

Several proteins were identified which were specifically associated with different stages of the condition. Two proteins in particular, showed signs of damage that could be linked with the progression of the condition. There proteins are known as 'tissue factor' and 'protein C inhibitor' and normally participate in the control of blood clotting and in anti-inflammatory pathways. The relationship between the coagulation cascade and inflammation is the first of many new discoveries that will emerge from such a catalogue of proteins.

The researchers suggest that the damaged proteins might be helping the multiple sclerosis to progress and have managed to 'correct' them in a mouse model that mimics the condition.

Dr Laura Bell, Research Communications Officer at the MS Society, said:
"This is early research but provides an interesting insight into some of the potential players that cause different types of damage to the central nervous system in people with MS. Understanding how MS develops is vital to target therapies for the condition."

These results need to be confirmed and studied further to be fully understood and used to help understand MS.