Assessment of metabolomics in patients with multiple sclerosis as an indicator of disease development, including relapsing-remitting, primary progressive and secondary progressive stage

Abstract

Metabolomics is a scientific field whose topics include qualitative and quantitative analysis of metabolites, defined as the total set of low-molecular-weight chemical compounds not exceeding 1500 Da. Along with genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, it is categorized as a field of science, currently using state-of-the-art diagnostic tools that, in the face of modern medicine, allow a holistic approach to the patient. The presence of metabolites in the analyzed biological material, in contrast to the information contained directly in the genetic material, reflects the current physiological state of the cell, and represents an integral relationship between genotype and phenotype, which can directly contribute in the future to the knowledge of the molecular basis in specific disease entities. An additional aspect that is in favor of metabolic analysis is their decidedly smaller number compared to at least genes, transcriptomes, and proteins. Despite the development of many "omics" technologies, there is a lack of integrative and linking studies to see the full picture of cellular pathways in the future. Such linkage would improve our insight into human pathologies, leading to a revolution in preclinical and clinical research in disease diagnosis, prognosis, drug response and drug development.