Neurofilament Light- Chain as Biomarker for Neurodegeneration in Ataxia Telangiectasia

A-T is a neurodegenerative disease with mutation in the ATM gene. The clinical presentation is complex and affects many different organ systems. Typical findings are progressive cerebellar ataxia, malnutrition, immunodeficiency, chromosomal instability and cancer susceptibility. In addition, new disease entities such as hepatopathy, diabetes and endocrinological alterations are coming to the force.

The severity of the disease is closely related to presence of residual kinase activity, immunological status and specific mutations. However, the individual course of the disease is hard to predict. There is an urgent need to find and define reliable biomarkers for disease progression in order to estimate the prognosis of individual disease course. According the classification of estimated disease severity, the most suitable therapy and support can be organized.

In many other neurodegenerative disorders neurofilament- light chain has been reported to be a sensitive and reproducable serum biomarker for disease progression, activity and monitoring of therapy efficaciousness. Neurofilament proteins indicate neuroaxonal damage independent of causal pathway, the advantage of neurofilaments as a biomarker of disease progression is that levels rise upon neuroaxonal damage not only in CSF but also in blood. Therefore, they can be used to monitor disease activity without invasive procedures.

The aim of the proposal is to measure and evaluate neurofilament-light chain as serum biomarker of disease progression in A-T patients. Additionally, the investigators will measure neurofilament-light chain in CSF from their human biobank and characterize the individual evolution in the serum of whole blood taken from the biobank.

In the prospective part of the study, the investigators will correlate the levels of neurofilament to A-T scores for neurological assessment.