title: Plasma neurofilament heavy chain is not a useful biomarker in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
abstract: The negative results in trials of vitamin C in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 1A have highlighted the lack of sensitive outcome measures. Neurofilaments are abundant neuronal cytoskeletal proteins, and their concentration in blood is likely to reflect axonal breakdown. We therefore examined plasma neurofilament heavy-chain (NfH) concentration as a potential biomarker in CMT.
  
  
  
  Blood samples were collected from healthy controls and patients with CMT over a 2-year period. Disease severity was measured using the CMT Examination Score. An in-house enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay was used to measure plasma NfH levels.
  
  
  
  There was no significant difference in plasma NfH concentrations between CMT patients and controls (P = 0.449). There was also no significant difference in plasma NfH levels in the CMT group over 1 year (mean difference = -0.02, SEM = 4.44, P = 0.98).
  
  
  
  Plasma NfH levels are not altered in patients with CMT and are not a suitable biomarker of disease activity. Muscle Nerve 53: 972-975, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 811 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rossor
authors.affiliation: Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, University College London Institute of Neurology, London, UK.|Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma, Blizard Institute, Barts and The School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ching-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, VU Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petzold
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma, Blizard Institute, Barts and The School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malaspina
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 811 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laura
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 811 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Greensmith
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, 811 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
authors.forename: Mary M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D002607:Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C051774:neurofilament protein H
keywords: CMT; Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; ELISA; neurofilament heavy chain; outcome measure; plasma