Neurofilament light chain level in traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Background: Neurofilament light (NfL) level was obviously increased in traumatic brain injury (TBI) individuals. But, no comprehensive meta-analysis has ever been conducted to assess the diagnostic performance of NfL. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between NfL level and TBI through a meta-analysis. Methods: Studies were selected from Pubmed, Web of science, Embase, Google Scholar, PMC and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) through inclusion and exclusion criteria. The standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random-effect model or fixed-effect model to assess the association between NfL level and TBI. Subgroup analysis according to sample collection time, sample type and detection method was performed. The influence analysis and publication bias was also conducted. All analyses were performed using the RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12 software. Results: A total of 9 studies were included. Results indicated that TBI individuals had a higher NfL expression level compared with the non-TBI individuals (SMD = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.52–3.43, I 2 = 96%, P < .01). Similar NfL increasing was also observed in Caucasian population, 0–48 hour and 6–10 days sample collection time, as well as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, plasma sample subgroup analysis. Moreover, the NfL increasing still existed no matter the NfL expression level was detected by ELISA or Simoa assay. Conclusion: NfL expression level was increased in TBI individuals, which indicated that NfL could be a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of TBI and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Association Between Proteomic Blood Biomarkers and DTI/NODDI Metrics in Adolescent Football Players: A Pilot Study

“…Similar to tau protein, NfL functions as a scaffolding structural protein in axonal and dendritic branching and growth, and NfL undergoes post-translational modification by a series of phosphorylation events, which can make it vulnerable to mechanical stretch and shear stress ( 62 ). Growing evidence supports that NfL levels in blood have shown to reflect the progression of neurodegenerative condition (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis) ( 63 – 65 ), differentiate severities of TBI ( 66 ), predict clinical outcome (e.g., functional recovery, return-to-play) after severe TBI and concussion ( 67 , 68 ), and correlate with subconcussive head impact exposure ( 24 , 26 , 32 , 33 ). Unlike tau, however, we failed to observe significant correlations between NfL and diffusion metrics, which opposes the data by Ljungqvist et al ( 69 ) that showed an association between serum NfL and FA ( R 2 = 0.83) 12 months after severe TBI.…”

Magnetic resonance imaging under isoflurane anesthesia alters cortical cyclooxygenase‐2 expression and glial cell morphology during sepsis‐associated neurological dysfunction in rats

“…Interestingly, the detection of neurofilaments in blood is used both in humans and animals as a way to monitor neuronal damage. 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 In this context, it is important that general anesthesia alters blood neurofilament concentrations already in neurologically healthy individuals. 70 , 71 Moreover, given that isoflurane anesthesia in rodents slows down brain drainage via the cerebrospinal fluid, 72 , 73 this may result in an underestimation of neurofilament disruption occurring in the brain parenchyma.…”

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“…Additionally, we evaluated phosphorylated tau-181 (ptau181), and amyloid beta (Aβ)-40 and 42, which are more specific biomarkers for Alzheimer's type pathology (10,(13)(14)(15). Notably, UCH-L1 (16,17), GFAP (18), tau (18), and NFL (19,20) are also elevated following blood brain barrier disruption, which has been documented in neuropathological studies of COVID-19 decedents(21) as well as in AD.…”