The Department of Neurology of Hospital de Sant Pau has published in Neurology the article “CSF sAPPβ, YKL-40, and NfL along the ALS-FTD spectrum”. This study has been carried out by the Sant Pau Memory Unit and the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit of the Department of Neurology to investigate the clinical utility of cerebrospinal fluid markers in the diagnosis and prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal degeneration
Frontotemporal degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Frontotemporal degeneration is a neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive behavioural and/or language disturbances. Sometimes, patients also present motor problems, such as motor neuron disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Today, frontotemporal degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are seen as two ends of the same disease spectrum.
What was done in this study?
In this study, the teams of the Sant Pau Memory Unit and the Neuromuscular Disorders Unit collaborated to analyze three markers in cerebrospinal fluid samples of more than 170 patients and volunteers in the SPIN cohort (Sant Pau Initiative on Neurodegeneration).
Main results and relevance of the study
The study suggests that a marker of amyloid processing (sAPPß), a marker of inflammation (YKL-40) and a marker of neuronal degeneration (NfL) in the cerebrospinal fluid could be useful tools to evaluate the staging and prognosis of patients within the clinical spectrum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal degeneration. The results of this study show that the levels of sAPPß, YKL-40 and NfL in cerebrospinal fluid reflect neurodegeneration in frontotemporal regions and help to predict the clinical progression of these diseases.
More information
Part of the results of the work that is now published were awarded the prize for best communication at the meeting of the Societat Catalana de Neurologia 2018.
This study has received funding from the Fondo de Investigación en Salud (Health Research Fund or FIS) of the Carlos III Health Institute, the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya through the “Pla Estratègic de Recerca i Innovació en Salut” (Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation in Health or PERIS), and La Marató Foundation.
Details of this study can be found here: