TY - JOUR
T1 - Neurofilament light chain as a blood biomarker to differentiate psychiatric disorders from behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia
AU - Al Shweiki, MHD Rami
AU - Steinacker, Petra
AU - Oeckl, Patrick
AU - Hengerer, Bastian
AU - Danek, Adrian
AU - Fassbender, Klaus
AU - Diehl-Schmid, Janine
AU - Jahn, Holger
AU - Anderl-Straub, Sarah
AU - Ludolph, Albert C.
AU - Schönfeldt-Lecuona, Carlos
AU - Otto, Markus
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/6
Y1 - 2019/6
N2 - The overlapping symptoms of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and primary psychiatric disorders (such as depressive disorder, schizophrenia spectrum, and bipolar disorder) present a challenge for the differential diagnosis of bvFTD in middle and older-aged people. Neurofilaments are cytoskeletal proteins in the neurons, and several studies have reported elevated levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid of neurodegenerative as well as psychiatric disorders. The study aims to determine the utility of serum NfL levels as a biomarker to differentiate between bvFTD and psychiatric disorder. In our study, we investigated the levels of NfL in the serum of schizophrenia (n = 11), depression (n = 28), bipolar (n = 11), bvFTD (n = 20) patients and controls (n = 27) by single molecule array (Simoa) technology. The schizophrenia, depression and bipolar patients did not show significant changes in serum NfL levels in comparison to the control group (p > 0.99). The serum NfL levels were significantly elevated in bvFTD patients in comparison to the control cohort (p < 0.0001), depression (p < 0.0001), schizophrenia (p < 0.0002) and bipolar patients (p < 0.0083). We propose serum NfL as a biomarker to differentiate bvFTD from psychiatric disorders and to rule out neurodegeneration in the course of psychiatric disorders.
AB - The overlapping symptoms of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and primary psychiatric disorders (such as depressive disorder, schizophrenia spectrum, and bipolar disorder) present a challenge for the differential diagnosis of bvFTD in middle and older-aged people. Neurofilaments are cytoskeletal proteins in the neurons, and several studies have reported elevated levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid of neurodegenerative as well as psychiatric disorders. The study aims to determine the utility of serum NfL levels as a biomarker to differentiate between bvFTD and psychiatric disorder. In our study, we investigated the levels of NfL in the serum of schizophrenia (n = 11), depression (n = 28), bipolar (n = 11), bvFTD (n = 20) patients and controls (n = 27) by single molecule array (Simoa) technology. The schizophrenia, depression and bipolar patients did not show significant changes in serum NfL levels in comparison to the control group (p > 0.99). The serum NfL levels were significantly elevated in bvFTD patients in comparison to the control cohort (p < 0.0001), depression (p < 0.0001), schizophrenia (p < 0.0002) and bipolar patients (p < 0.0083). We propose serum NfL as a biomarker to differentiate bvFTD from psychiatric disorders and to rule out neurodegeneration in the course of psychiatric disorders.
KW - Biomarker
KW - Bipolar
KW - bvFTD
KW - Depression
KW - Frontotemporal dementia
KW - Psychiatric disorders
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Serum NFL
KW - Simoa
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064008625&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.03.019
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.03.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 30953863
AN - SCOPUS:85064008625
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 113
SP - 137
EP - 140
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
ER -
