Neurofilaments as biomarkers in neurological disorders.
- Khalil M Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. michael.khalil@medunigraz.at.
- Teunissen CE Neurochemistry Laboratory and Biobank, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Otto M Department of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
- Piehl F Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Sormani MP Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
- Gattringer T Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
- Barro C Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Clinical Research, and Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Kappos L Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Clinical Research, and Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Comabella M Unit of Clinical Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- Fazekas F Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
- Petzold A UCL Institute of Neurology, Department of Molecular Neurosciences, Moorfields Eye Hospital and The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
- Blennow K Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden.
- Zetterberg H Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden.
- Kuhle J Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Clinical Research, and Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. jens.kuhle@usb.ch.
- 2018-09-02
Published in:
- Nature reviews. Neurology. - 2018
Aging
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Biomarkers
Bipolar Disorder
Brain Injuries, Traumatic
Dementia
Humans
Huntington Disease
Immunoassay
Multiple Sclerosis
Neurofilament Proteins
Parkinson Disease
Stroke
English
Neuroaxonal damage is the pathological substrate of permanent disability in various neurological disorders. Reliable quantification and longitudinal follow-up of such damage are important for assessing disease activity, monitoring treatment responses, facilitating treatment development and determining prognosis. The neurofilament proteins have promise in this context because their levels rise upon neuroaxonal damage not only in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) but also in blood, and they indicate neuroaxonal injury independent of causal pathways. First-generation (immunoblot) and second-generation (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) neurofilament assays had limited sensitivity. Third-generation (electrochemiluminescence) and particularly fourth-generation (single-molecule array) assays enable the reliable measurement of neurofilaments throughout the range of concentrations found in blood samples. This technological advancement has paved the way to investigate neurofilaments in a range of neurological disorders. Here, we review what is known about the structure and function of neurofilaments, discuss analytical aspects and knowledge of age-dependent normal ranges of neurofilaments and provide a comprehensive overview of studies on neurofilament light chain as a marker of axonal injury in different neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative dementia, stroke, traumatic brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson disease. We also consider work needed to explore the value of this axonal damage marker in managing neurological diseases in daily practice.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1038/s41582-018-0058-z
- PMID 30171200
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/202462
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