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The following is a summary of “Serum neurofilament light at diagnosis: a prognostic indicator for accelerated disease progression in Parkinson’s Disease,” published in the August 2024 issue of Neurology by Pedersen et al.
Neurofilament light chain (NFL) is a biomarker of neuroaxonal degeneration in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease (PD). NFL has high levels of serum, which showcase the severity and progression of the disease leading to cognitive and motor disability.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to measure the serum NFL level in patients with PD and its association with motor decline in PD.
They measured NFL levels in patients with PD and controls from the Park West study at diagnosis and after 3 and 5 years. Mixed-effects regression was used to analyze changes in NFL with changes in mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part 3 (UPDRS-III) scores over 10 years.
The results showed increased serum NFL levels in patients with PD at all visits for over 5 years compared to controls (0.09 pg/mL per year; P=0.029). A higher baseline NFL was observed with quick cognitive decline β −0.77 transformed MMSE; P=0.010), and a 40% NFL increase predicted future motor decline (β 0.28 UPDRS-III; P=0.004).
They concluded a clear link between increased serum NFL levels in early PD diagnosis and cognitive and motor dysfunction, suggesting the potential of serum NFL as a predictive PD biomarker.
Source: nature.com/articles/s41531-024-00768-1
