Do fragments and glycosylated isoforms of alpha-1-antitrypsin in CSF mirror spinal pathophysiological mechanisms in chronic peripheral neuropathic pain? An exploratory, discovery phase study.

Altered levels of fragments and/or glycosylated isoforms of alpha-1-antitrypsin might mirror pathophysiological processes in the spinal cord of neuropathic pain patients. In particular, we suggest that a putative disease-specific combination of the levels of two different N-truncated fragments of alpha-1-antitrypsin might be interesting for future CSF and/or plasma biomarker investigations in chronic neuropathic pain.