Changes In Blood Protein Levels May Help Track Disease Activity In Patients With Friedreich’s Ataxia, Study Finds

Friedreich’s Ataxia News (8/12, Levinson) reports, “People with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) show distinct changes in the blood proteins neurofilament light chain (NfL) and tau that could help track the disease and measure the effects of treatment, a study finds.” Researchers observed that in younger patients with FA, “NfL levels were sharply higher than in healthy people, making it a promising early biomarker. But, unlike in most brain diseases, NfL levels in FA fell with age, approaching normal values by around age 40. Tau, however, remained consistently elevated across all ages, possibly reflecting its deeper role in the disease processes.” With that said, “neither NfL nor t-tau showed a clear relationship with genetic correlates of disease severity or with the participants’ neurological status. Other proteins involved in CNS neurodegeneration were also examined, but their levels weren’t significantly different between the groups.” The study was published in Movement Disorders.