The progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) can vary markedly from one patient to the next, yet until now there has been no reliable way to predict whether and, if so, to what extent disability is likely to develop. In a research project of the Disease-Related Multiple Sclerosis Competence Network (KKNMS), a working group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with SyNergy member Bernhard Hemmer has recently shown that elevated levels of specific antibodies in the nervous system are telltale signs of early and rapidly progressing disability.