Serum Contactin-1 in CIDP: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether serum levels of contactin-1, a paranodal protein, correlate with paranodal injury as seen in patients with CIDP with antibodies targeting the paranodal region. METHODS: Serum contactin-1 levels were measured in 187 patients with CIDP and 222 healthy controls. Paranodal antibodies were investigated in all patients. RESULTS: Serum contactin-1 levels were lower in patients (N = 41) with paranodal antibodies compared with patients (N = 146) without paranodal antibodies (p < 0.01) and showed good discrimination between these groups (area under the curve 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76–0.93). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that serum contactin-1 levels have the potential to serve as a possible diagnostic biomarker of paranodal injury in CIDP. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides class II evidence that serum contactin-1 levels can discriminate between patients with CIDP with or without paranodal antibodies with a sensitivity of 71% (95% CI: 56%–85%) and a specificity of 97% (95% CI: 83%–100%).