Phase 3 Trial Finds Tysabri Lowers Serum Neurofilament Light Levels in SPMS Patients

Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) lowers the levels of the biomarker serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to data from a Phase 3 trial.

Findings also revealed that higher levels of sNfL correlated with MS lesions and disease activity prior to starting the therapy, and with the extent of future brain atrophy.

Hans-Peter Hartung, MD, presented the study, “Natalizumab Reduces Serum Concentrations of Neurofilament Light Chain in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Patients From the Phase 3 ASCEND Study,” at the 2019 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting, being held through May 10 in Philadelphia. Hartung is a professor and chairman of the department of neurology at Heinrich Heine University in Germany.

Although not specific to MS, sNfL has been proposed as a biomarker of nerve cell damage, disease activity, and treatment response in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). However, the potential of sNfL as a biomarker in SPMS patients is unclear.

Aiming to address this, the team of researchers evaluated the link between sNfL levels and disease activity, disability progression, and response to Biogen’s Tysabri in patients who had had SPMS for at least two years and who participated in the Phase 3 ASCEND trial (NCT01416181).

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