TY - JOUR
T1 - Neurofilament Light Chain as a Biomarker, and Correlation with Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Diagnosis of CNS-Related Disorders
AU - Alirezaei, Zahra
AU - Pourhanifeh, Mohammad Hossein
AU - Borran, Sarina
AU - Nejati, Majid
AU - Mirzaei, Hamed
AU - Hamblin, Michael R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - The search for diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for neurodegenerative conditions is of high importance, since these disorders may present difficulties in differential diagnosis. Biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity are required. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a unique biomarker related to axonal damage and neural cell death, which is elevated in a number of neurological disorders, and can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), as well as blood, serum, or plasma samples. Although the NfL concentration in CSF is higher than that in blood, blood measurement may be easier in practice due to its lesser invasiveness, reproducibility, and convenience. Many studies have investigated NfL in both CSF and serum/plasma as a potential biomarker of neurodegenerative disorders. Neuroimaging biomarkers can also potentially improve detection of CNS-related disorders at an early stage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are sensitive techniques to visualize neuroaxonal loss. Therefore, investigating the combination of NfL levels with indices extracted from MRI and DTI scans could potentially improve diagnosis of CNS-related disorders. This review summarizes the evidence for NfL being a reliable biomarker in the early detection and disease management in several CNS-related disorders. Moreover, we highlight the correlation between MRI and NfL and ask whether they can be combined.
AB - The search for diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for neurodegenerative conditions is of high importance, since these disorders may present difficulties in differential diagnosis. Biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity are required. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a unique biomarker related to axonal damage and neural cell death, which is elevated in a number of neurological disorders, and can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), as well as blood, serum, or plasma samples. Although the NfL concentration in CSF is higher than that in blood, blood measurement may be easier in practice due to its lesser invasiveness, reproducibility, and convenience. Many studies have investigated NfL in both CSF and serum/plasma as a potential biomarker of neurodegenerative disorders. Neuroimaging biomarkers can also potentially improve detection of CNS-related disorders at an early stage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are sensitive techniques to visualize neuroaxonal loss. Therefore, investigating the combination of NfL levels with indices extracted from MRI and DTI scans could potentially improve diagnosis of CNS-related disorders. This review summarizes the evidence for NfL being a reliable biomarker in the early detection and disease management in several CNS-related disorders. Moreover, we highlight the correlation between MRI and NfL and ask whether they can be combined.
KW - Biomarker
KW - Diffusion tensor imaging
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Neurodegenerative disorders
KW - Neurofilament light chain
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070219971&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12035-019-01698-3
DO - 10.1007/s12035-019-01698-3
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31385229
AN - SCOPUS:85070219971
SN - 0893-7648
VL - 57
SP - 469
EP - 491
JO - Molecular Neurobiology
JF - Molecular Neurobiology
IS - 1
ER -
