| خلاصه مقاله | Background:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). This disease causes demyelination and neurodegeneration in the CNS, which is followed by symptoms such as mobility problems, vision problems and numbness. Early diagnosis of MS plays a key role in preventing the progression of the disease and reducing its symptoms. Using different biomarkers, such as neurofilaments (NF), is a useful method to help early identification of MS patients. Neurofilaments are neuronal cytoskeletal proteins and are composed of a light chain (NFL), an intermediate chain (NFM), and a heavy chain (NFH). Neurofilaments are expressed only in neurons and are released into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood after neuroaxonal damage.
Methods:
We reviewed about 200 articles about neurofilaments, multiple sclerosis and relationship between them from January 1, 2018, to November 30, 2022, and finally used information in 10 of them to write this article.
Results:
During this disease, the patient experiences neuroaxonal damage, which results in the release of neurofilaments into the CSF and blood stream. Therefore, compared to healthy people, MS patients have higher levels of NFL in their CSF and blood circulation. After the effective treatment of this disease, the increased levels of NFL will decrease significantly.
Conclusion:
Therefore, measuring the levels of NFL in serum and CSF can be a suitable method to help in the early diagnosis of this disease. NFL measurement can also be used to check the treatment process and monitor the therapy response. |