To evaluate individual neurofilament light chain (NfL) variation over the time of disease course and the potential of NfL measurement to predict treatment response in patients with MS.
We investigated 15 patients with MS after immune reconstitution treatment with alemtuzumab (ATZ). Monthly serum NfL (sNFL) measurements were correlated with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), MRI, and relapse activity over an observational period of up to 102 months.
Before ATZ, sNfL was significantly increased in correlation with previous relapse/MRI activity. After ATZ, sNfL decreased quickly within the first 6 months. In patients classified as NEDA-3, sNfL declined and persisted at an individual low steady-state level of <8 pg/mL. During follow-up, 34 sNfL peaks with a >20 fold increase could be detected, which were associated with clinical or MRI disease activity. Even patient-reported relapse-suspicious symptoms, which have not been confirmed because relapses were accompanied by sNfL, increase, proposing sNfL assessment as a marker for relapse activity. sNfL started to increase earliest 5 months before, peaked at clinical onset, and recovered within 4–5 months. sNfL presented at higher levels in active patients requiring ATZ retreatment compared with responder patients. During 2 documented pregnancies, sNfL was at a low level, whereas a postpartum transient sNfL increase was seen without any signs of activity.
(1) Novartis scientific advisory board (2) Ixico scientific advisory board
(1) Biogen, funding for travel or speaker honoraria (1) Novartis, funding for travel or speaker honoraria (1) Pfizer, speaker honoraria (1) Sanofi-Genzyme, speaker honoraria (1) Teva Pharmaceutical, speaker honoraria
(1) Novartis, research support funding (1) Biogen, MS PATHS network funding
Abbott, Cephalon, Novartis, TEVA, Lundbeck, GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Schering/Bayer Health Care, UCB/Schwarz Pharma, Desitin, Merck-Serono, Solvay, Zambon
for advisory board meetings or lectures. Cephalon, Novartis, TEVA, Lundbeck, GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Schering/Bayer Health Care, Pfizer, UCB/Schwarz Pharma, Desitin,Solvay.Zambon
(1) Bayer Healthcare (2) Biogen Idec (3) Novartis (4) Merck Serono (5) Teva (6) Genzyme (7) Roche (8) Celgene; all commercial
Speaker honorarium for all commercial entities (1) Bayer Healthcare (2) Biogen Idec (3) Sanofi Genzyme (4) Celgene (5) Roche (6) Novartis (7) Teva (8) Almirall (o) Merck
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/NN.
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