Neurofilament light as a blood biomarker for neurodegeneration in Down syndrome
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A Strydom A Heslegrave CM Startin KY Mok J Hardy J Groet D Nizetic H Zetterberg E Fisher Victor Tybulewicz A Karmiloff-Smith S Hamburg R Hithersay The LonDownS ConsotiumAbstract
© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Down syndrome (DS) may be considered a genetic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to universal development of AD neuropathology, but diagnosis and treatment trials are hampered by a lack of reliable blood biomarkers. A potential biomarker is neurofilament light (NF-L), due to its association with axonal damage in neurodegenerative conditions. Methods: We measured blood NF-L concentrations in 100 adults with DS using Simoa NF-light® assays, and we examined relationships with age as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal dementia diagnosis. Results: NF-L concentrations increased with age (Spearman's rho = 0.789, p < 0.001), with a steep increase after age 40, and they were predictive of dementia status (p = 0.022 adjusting for age, sex, and APOE4), but they showed no relationship with long-standing epilepsy or premorbid ability. Baseline NF-L concentrations were associated with longitudinal dementia status. Conclusions: NF-L is a biomarker for neurodegeneration in DS with potential for use in future clinical trials to prevent or delay dementia.
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Journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy
Volume 10
Issue number 1
Pages 39
Available online
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Publisher website (DOI) 10.1186/s13195-018-0367-x
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Europe PubMed Central 29631614
Pubmed 29631614
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