November 29, 2016 /
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Neurology Reviews. 2016 November;24(11):16
LONDON—Higher levels of a neuronal protein were found in the blood of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) than in healthy subjects in a proof-of-concept study reported at the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS).
Blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) were 28.1 and 12.5 pg/mL, respectively, and were also found to be higher in patients with RRMS with greater disease activity seen on MRI.
As the number of gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) lesions increased, so did the blood concentration of NfL, which was 23.9 pg/mL in patients with no Gd+ lesions, 26.7 pg/mL in those with one Gd+ lesion, 33.4 pg/mL in those with two to three Gd+ lesions, and 55.9 pg/mL in those with more than three Gd+lesions.
“These findings support a role for NfL as a peripheral biomarker for MS,” said Jens Kuhle, MD, of University Hospital Basel in Switzerland. “There is an urgent unmet need for reliable biomarkers of neurodegeneration, besides efforts that are being done in MRI, optical coherence tomography, and evoked potentials.
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