Objective: Functional motor disorders (FMDs) are disabling neurological conditions characterized by abnormal movements which are inconsistent and incongruent with recognized neurological diseases. Aim of this study is to investigate whether FMDs are related to structural axonal damage.
Methods: Consecutive patients with a definite diagnosis of FMD with no other neurological/psychiatric comorbidities (pure FMDs) and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in a tertiary center and demographic/clinical data were collected. Serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) assessment was performed with ultrasensitive paramagnetic bead-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: 34 patients with FMDs and 34 HCs were included. NfL levels were similar (p = 0.135) in FMDs (median 8.3 pg/mL, range 2-33.7) and HCs (median 6.1 pg/mL, range 2.7-15.6). The area under curve (0.606, 95% CI 0.468-0.743) confirmed that NfL concentration was not different in the two groups. NfL values were similar in patients with paroxysmal vs persistent disease course (p = 0.301), and isolated vs combined symptoms (p = 0.537). NfL levels were associated with age (p < 0.0001), but not with disease duration (p = 0.425), number of CNS acting drugs (p = 0.850), or clinical features (p = 0.983).
Discussion: Our preliminary data show that NfL levels are similar in patients with FMDs and HCs, indicating the lack of neuroaxonal damage. These results have relevant pathogenic and clinical implications and suggest that serum NfL may be a promising diagnostic biomarker, potentially useful to differentiate functional vs structural neurological disorders.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-022-11480-6 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The inflammatory profiling in a cohort of older patients suffering from cognitive decline and dementia.
Exp Gerontol
January 2025
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Via della Commenda 19, 20122 Milan, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy. Electronic address:
Background: During aging, there is a progressive impairment of immune cell function that triggers the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines causing the so-called "inflammaging". Frailty represents a condition of increased vulnerability to stresses and reduced homeostatic reserve reflecting not only health status but also biological age. In older subjects without dementia, we showed that markers of inflammaging were differently associated with chronological age than with frailty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA real-world data of serum neurofilament light chain in a large cohort of Egyptian multiple sclerosis patients: Hospital-based study.
Mult Scler Relat Disord
January 2025
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. Electronic address:
Background: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNFL) is a promising biomarker for neuroaxonal injury in multiple sclerosis (MS). Traditional clinical and radiological examinations often fail to capture the underlying neurodegeneration, particularly in the absence of clinical relapses or gadolinium-enhanced lesions. This study aims to assess sNFL levels in real-world MS patients who have no evidence of activity, to evaluate the potential of sNFL as a biomarker for smoldering-associated worsening (SAW).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContribution of Blood Biomarkers to Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis.
Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm
March 2025
Servei de Neurologia, Centre d'Esclerosi Múltiple de Catalunya (Cemcat), Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Background And Objectives: Invasive procedures may delay the diagnostic process in multiple sclerosis (MS). We investigated the added value of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP), chitinase-3-like 1 (sCHI3L1), and the immune responses to the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded nuclear antigen 1 to current MS diagnostic criteria.
Methods: In this multicentric study, we selected patients from 2 prospective cohorts presenting a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).
Modeling Sporadic Progressive Supranuclear Palsy in 3D Midbrain Organoids: Recapitulating Disease Features for In Vitro Diagnosis and Drug Discovery.
Ann Neurol
January 2025
Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Objective: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a severe neurodegenerative disease characterized by tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and tufted astrocytes. Developing treatments for PSP is challenging due to the lack of disease models reproducing its key pathological features. This study aimed to model sporadic PSP-Richardson's syndrome (PSP-RS) using multi-donor midbrain organoids (MOs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsefulness of serum neurofilament light chain in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.
J Neurol Sci
January 2025
Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; Department de Medicina, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Background: The development of new biomarkers is essential to improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment decisions in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of the serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) level as a marker for disability and response to immunomodulatory treatment in patients with CIDP.
Methods: This prospective, single-center, observational study included 38 patients with CIDP: 19 treatment-naive (CIDP-I) patients assessed before and after the initiation of immunomodulatory therapy and 19 stable patients on maintenance immunoglobulins (CIDP-M).
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!