BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive motor neuron cell death. Etiopathogenesis is still imperfectly known and much effort have been undertaken to find a biological marker that could help in the early diagnosis and in the monitoring of disease progression. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of tau, an axonal microtubule-associated protein, have been measured in ALS with levels found increased in some studies and unchanged in others. METHODS: Total CSF tau level was assayed in a population of ALS patients (n = 57) and controls (n = 110) using a specific ELISA method. RESULTS: No significant differences in the median CSF tau levels between ALS cases and controls were found [ALS: 126 pg/ml (78-222); controls: 112 pg/ml (71-188), P = ns]. In the ALS group, the bulbar-onset patients showed increased CSF tau levels as compared with the spinal-onset cases. These differences might be related to the higher age of the bulbar-onset patients. Further, no correlations were found between CSF tau concentrations and the rate of progression of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support the hypothesis that total CSF tau protein is a reliable biological marker for ALS.
BACKGROUND:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive motor neuron cell death. Etiopathogenesis is still imperfectly known and much effort have been undertaken to find a biological marker that could help in the early diagnosis and in the monitoring of disease progression. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of tau, an axonal microtubule-associated protein, have been measured in ALS with levels found increased in some studies and unchanged in others. METHODS: Total CSF tau level was assayed in a population of ALSpatients (n = 57) and controls (n = 110) using a specific ELISA method. RESULTS: No significant differences in the median CSF tau levels between ALS cases and controls were found [ALS: 126 pg/ml (78-222); controls: 112 pg/ml (71-188), P = ns]. In the ALS group, the bulbar-onset patients showed increased CSF tau levels as compared with the spinal-onset cases. These differences might be related to the higher age of the bulbar-onset patients. Further, no correlations were found between CSF tau concentrations and the rate of progression of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support the hypothesis that total CSF tau protein is a reliable biological marker for ALS.
Authors: Débora Lanznaster; Rudolf C Hergesheimer; Salah Eddine Bakkouche; Stephane Beltran; Patrick Vourc'h; Christian R Andres; Diane Dufour-Rainfray; Philippe Corcia; Hélène Blasco Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2020-04-21 Impact factor: 5.923
Authors: Nick S Verber; Stephanie R Shepheard; Matilde Sassani; Harry E McDonough; Sophie A Moore; James J P Alix; Iain D Wilkinson; Tom M Jenkins; Pamela J Shaw Journal: Front Neurol Date: 2019-04-03 Impact factor: 4.003
Authors: Ahmed Abdelhak; Andreas Junker; Johannes Brettschneider; Jan Kassubek; Albert C Ludolph; Markus Otto; Hayrettin Tumani Journal: Int J Mol Sci Date: 2015-07-31 Impact factor: 5.923