title: Cerebrospinal fluid levels of chromogranin A and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain are elevated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Various cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are being studied to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic methods for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to establish the CSF levels of chromogranin A (CgA) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNF-H) in patients with ALS in order to assess these proteins as possible biomarkers of ALS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cerebrospinal fluid levels of CgA and pNF-H were examined and mutually compared in 15 patients with sporadic ALS and 16 gender- and age-matched controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lumbar CSF CgA levels were increased in the patients with ALS compared to the controls (median 235 vs 138, P=.031). Lumbar CSF pNF-H levels were significantly increased in the patients with ALS compared to the control group (median 3091 vs 213, P<.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identifying CSF biomarkers in ALS is important in order to establish the diagnosis in the early stages of the disease. pNF-H seems to be a good biomarker for the diagnosis of ALS. If confirmed on a larger group of patients, CgA may also become useful in the diagnosis of sporadic ALS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4776-9055
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaiserova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Grambalova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Otruba
authors.affiliation: AGEL Research and Training Institute, Prostejov, Czech Republic.|Institute of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.|Department of Biochemical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ostrava University, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stejskal
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prikrylova Vranova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mares
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mensikova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kanovsky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D053379:Chromogranin A / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D053379:Chromogranin A; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins
keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; biomarkers; cerebrospinal fluid