Patent ID: 7081348

Claim:
A method of diagnosing multiple sclerosis, comprising: (a) a step of breaking up the leukocytes in a blood sample by contacting said blood sample with the following aqueous liquid (i) or an aqueous liquid mixture of (i) and (ii): (i) an aqueous liquid, which is a buffer solution and/or distilled water may include a water-soluble organic solvent, said aqueous liquid having an osmotic pressure of 250 mOsm/kg.H 2 O or less or an aqueous liquid having an osmotic pressure of 310 mOsm/kg.H 2 O or more; (ii) an aqueous liquid comprising a hemolysate; (b) immunologically determining the amount of human medullasin released into said blood sample from the leukocytes broken up in said step (a) using an anti-human medullasin antibody; and (c) diagnosing multiple sclerosis from the results obtained in said (b) by comparing the determined amount of human medullasin with a control value of medullasin in a normal patient.