Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 7 (FABP-7), Glutamic Acid and Neurofilament Light Chain (NFL) as Potential Markers of Neurodegenerative Disorders in Psoriatic Patients—A Pilot Study

Abstract

Psoriasis and neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are important medical, social and economic issues. The possible relationship of psoriasis and NDs has not been established yet. This study involved 60 patients with plaque-type psoriasis. Serum concentrations of fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP-7), glutamic acid (GA) and neurofilament light chain (NFL), which have been hardly studied in psoriasis before, were measured by ELISA before and after 12 weeks of treatment with acitretin or methotrexate. The concentration of FABP-7 and NFL in patients before the treatment was significantly higher than in the controls (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively). After the treatment their concentration decreased, although FABP-7 did so insignificantly. The concentration of GA did not differ significantly between patients and controls and before and after the treatment but we found its negative correlation with CRP (p < 0.05). The duration of psoriasis does not seem to directly affect the risk of neurodegeneration and the severity only in patients with worse skin condition. Elevated FABP-7 and NFL, which are present in the brain, may be considered as potential indicators of NDs development in psoriatics, although it surely requires further research. GA might correspond with neuroinflammation in psoriasis. Systemic antipsoriatic therapy could be studied in order to improve cognitive impairment through lowering NDs biomarkers in some cases.

Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins in Psoriasis—A Review

“…We are not aware of other studies investigating this FABP in psoriatic patients. Results of our investigation, in combination with other obtained data, may suggest that psoriatics may be at increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases and this matter should be further studied to establish this association [58].…”

“…As for the role of FABP-7 in psoriasis, our team has already investigated this matter and its serum concentration turned out to be elevated compared to controls without dermatoses [58]. We also analyzed the concentration of FABP-7 before and after the treatment with systemic antipsoriatic agents (methotrexate and acitretin) and noticed a drop, although insignificant, in its concentration after therapy, and there was no difference regarding the use of a particular agent [58]. We are not aware of other studies investigating this FABP in psoriatic patients.…”

The Role of Osteopontin in Psoriasis—A Scoping Review

“…Those dementia-related biomarkers in PsO could possibly be influenced by the systematic treatment of psoriasis. In a group of PsO patients treated with acitretin or methotrexate, the serum concentration of FABPs and NFL before treatment was significantly higher than in HC and decreased after 12 weeks of therapy [58].…”

The Potential Role of Serum Tau Protein (MAPT), Neuronal Cell Adhesion Molecule (NrCAM) and Neprilysin (NEP) in Neurodegenerative Disorders Development in Psoriasis—Preliminary Results

“…Currently, there are not many data on the potential association between psoriasis and NDs, the more on their biomarkers. Recently we published a paper on brain fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP), neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glutamic acid (GA) as potential indicators of increased NDs risk in psoriatics [ 13 ]. We found increased serum concentrations of FABP-7 and NFL in psoriatic patients (similar to what is observed in patients with NDs), which prompted us to search for other NDs markers in psoriatics [ 13 ].…”

“…Recently we published a paper on brain fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP), neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glutamic acid (GA) as potential indicators of increased NDs risk in psoriatics [ 13 ]. We found increased serum concentrations of FABP-7 and NFL in psoriatic patients (similar to what is observed in patients with NDs), which prompted us to search for other NDs markers in psoriatics [ 13 ]. This paper is the continuation of our research, where we present our study on three other proteins that are engaged in neurodegenerative processes: tau protein (microtubule associated protein tau, MAPT), neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NrCAM) and neprilysin (NEP).…”