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Neurofilament Light Chain Serum Levels Mirror Age and Disability in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: A
Leila Husseini1, Jakob Jung1, Natalie Boess1
1From the Department of Neurology (L.H., J.J., M.S.W.), University Medical Center Göttingen; Augustahospital Anholt (N.B.), Clinic of Neurology, Isselburg-Anholt; Department of Neuropathology (N.K., S.N., C.S., I.M., M.S.W.), University Medical Center Göttingen; Department of Neurology (M.H.), Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf; and Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP (M.S.W.), Göttingen, Germany.
Objectives:
To assess neurofilament light chain serum (sNfL) levels in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SP-MS).
Methods:
Using a single molecule array, we analyzed sNfL levels in a cross-sectional cohort study of 153 patients with SP-MS hospitalized for rehabilitation in a clinic specialized in the care for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In addition, we investigated the correlation of disease activity with sNfL levels in 36 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS).
Results:
Mean sNfL levels in patients with SP-MS were consistently elevated when compared with age-matched controls and patients with RR-MS. In SP-MS, age dependency of sNfL levels was pronounced, whereas patients with RR-MS younger than 41 years without recent disease activity were not distinguishable from age-matched healthy controls. In a multivariate analysis, clinical disability was a risk factor for elevated sNfL levels in SP-MS, whereas no correlation with comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, or vitamin D serum levels, could be detected.
Discussion:
These findings highlight that measurement of sNfL levels represents a useful tool to assess the extent of neuroaxonal damage as a surrogate for clinical progression in patients with SP-MS, when age and disease activity as major confounders are taken into account.
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