title: Serum Neurofilament Light Protein as a Marker for Diffuse Axonal Injury: Results from a Case Series Study.
abstract: Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is an important cause of morbidity in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is currently no simple and reliable technique for early identification of patients with DAI, or to prognosticate long-term outcome in this patient group. In the present study, we examined acute serum concentrations of neurofilament light (NFL) in nine patients with severe TBI and DAI using a novel ultrasensitive single molecule array (Simoa) assay. The relationships between the NFL concentrations and MRI in the acute stage as well as clinical outcome and magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (MR-DTI) parameters at 12 months were analyzed. We found that the mean NFL concentrations among the patients displayed a 30-fold increase compared with controls, and that NFL completely discriminated between the patients and controls. We also found a relationship between serum NFL and MR-DTI parameters, with higher NFL concentrations in patients with higher trace (R2= 0.79) and lower fractional anisotropy (FA) (R2= 0.83). These results suggest that serum NFL may be a valuable blood biomarker for TBI, reflecting the severity of DAI.
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Neurosurgery, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ljungqvist
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .|3 Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital , Mölndal, Sweden .|4 Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology , Queen Square, London, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zetterberg
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Neuroradiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .
authors.forename: Marios
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsis
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .|3 Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital , Mölndal, Sweden .
authors.forename: Kaj
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blennow
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Neurosurgery, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skoglund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C044882:neurofilament protein L
keywords: DTI; MRI; TBI; axonal injury; biomarkers