JOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Kapoor M, Foiani M, Heslegrave A, Zetterberg H, Lunn MP, Malaspina A, Gillmore JD, Rossor AM and Reilly MM.

J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2019 Oct 3. doi: 10.1111/jns.12350

Abstract

Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRm) causes a disabling peripheral neuropathy as part of a multisystem disorder. The recent development of highly effective gene silencing therapies has highlighted the need for effective biomarkers of disease activity to guide the decision of when to start and stop treatment. In this study, we measured plasma neurofilament light chain (pNfL) concentration in 73 patients with ATTR and found that pNfL was significantly raised in ATTRm patients with peripheral neuropathy compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, pNFL correlated with disease severity as defined by established clinical outcome measures in patients for whom this information was available. These findings suggest a potential role of pNfL in monitoring disease activity and progression in ATTRm patients.