This will help clinicians understand where a person sits on the disease pathway and who may need closer monitoring or earlier, targeted treatment.

There may be two distinct subtypes of multiple sclerosis, according to a new study led by scientists at University College London (UCL). The finding, if validated, could help doctors provide more specialized care for patients.

The study used machine learning to analyze data drawn from blood tests and brain scans of 634 patients participating in two different clinical trials. Machine learning models are trained to pick up subtle patterns that humans might miss.

The blood tests were for detecting a protein called serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), a known biomarker of diseases of the nervous system, including multiple sclerosis (MS).