Levels of the light subunit of neurofilament triplet protein in cerebrospinal fluid in Huntington's disease

BackgroundNeurofilaments are major structural elements of neuronal cells. The light subunit of neurofilament triplet protein (NFL) has been shown to be increased in several neurological diseases (e.g. vascular, infectious, neurodegenerative), indicating axonal damage.MethodsIn this study we analyzed the NFL levels in all (N = 35) available cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from a clinical trial in Huntington's disease (HD) and compared them to age and gender matched controls.ResultsThe CSF–NFL levels were significantly higher in HD subjects compared with age and genders matched controls, and were correlated with scores on the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale Total Functional Capacity assessment. The potential of CSF–NFL levels as a disease activity marker in HD needs to be further investigated.