Patient acquisition

This study was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University Hospital Frankfurt (project number: 173/19). Samples were obtained from the Biobank of Chronic Inflammatory CNS Diseases, which were collected between October 2017 and December 2020. The samples were derived from patients older than 18 years of age who underwent a clinically indicated lumbar puncture due to suspected primary CNS disease. Final diagnoses according to the ICD-10 classification [International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), 10th revision] (18) included patients with multiple sclerosis [analogous to the 2017 McDonald criteria revision (19)], myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) with antibodies to aquaporin-4, other acute CNS inflammation (e.g., bacterial/viral meningitis), CNS neoplasia, non-CNS neurologic disease, other diseases, and no evidence of neurological disease. Written informed consent was mandatory before inclusion and was provided by the patients or their legal representative.