Correlational study of the serum levels of the glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament proteins in Parkinson's disease patients.

Objective: To investigate changes in the serum levels of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament proteins (NFs) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and to determine their clinical significance.

Methods: In this study, 82 subjects were divided into 3 groups: the PD group, the acute cerebral infarction (ACI) group, and a normal control group. The serum levels of GFAP and NFs were measured using a sandwich ELISA assay.

Results: The serum levels of GFAP and NFs were significantly higher in the PD and the ACI groups than in the normal control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the PD group and the ACI group (P>0.05). The serum level of GFAP in the PD group had no significant correlation with duration of the disease or age (P>0.05). The serum level of NFs in the PD group was significantly correlated with duration of the disease and age (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The serum levels of GFAP and NFs were significantly higher in the PD group than in the normal group, indicating that astrocytic activity may remain elevated during the axonal degeneration that occurs over duration of the disease, although this activity is not specific to the disease.