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Cited by 572Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchCerebrovascular and genetic disordersNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

Serum neurofilament light levels in normal aging and their association with morphologic brain changes

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Khalil, Michael, Pirpamer, Lukas, Hofer, Edith, Voortman, Margarete M., Barro, Christian, Leppert, David, Benkert, Pascal, Ropele, Stefan +4 more·2020·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-14612-6PMC PMC7010701
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Abstract

Neurofilament light (NfL) protein is a marker of neuro-axonal damage and can be measured not only in cerebrospinal fluid but also in serum, which allows for repeated assessments. There is still limited knowledge regarding the association of serum NfL (sNfL) with age and subclinical morphologic brain changes and their dynamics in the normal population. We measured sNfL by a single molecule array (Simoa) assay in 335 individuals participating in a population-based cohort study and after a mean follow-up time of 5.9 years (n = 103). Detailed clinical examination, cognitive testing and 3T brain MRI were performed to assess subclinical brain damage. We show that rising and more variable sNfL in individuals >60 years indicate an acceleration of neuronal injury at higher age, which may be driven by subclinical comorbid pathologies. This is supported by a close association of sNfL with brain volume changes in a cross-sectional and especially longitudinal manner.

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Authors
Khalil, M., Pirpamer, L., Hofer, E., Voortman, M. M., Barro, C., Leppert, D., Benkert, P., Ropele, S., Enzinger, C., Fazekas, F., Schmidt, R., & Kuhle, J.
Affiliations
  • Medical University of Graz (AT)
  • University of Basel (CH)
Corresponding author
Khalil, Michael
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-02-10
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
812-812
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-020-14612-6
PMC
PMC7010701
OpenAlex
W3004767455
Cited by
572
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 105 · 2022: 100 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 23
FWCI
55.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Research Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Cerebrovascular and genetic disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
serum neurofilament light, normal aging, brain volume changes, neuroaxonal damage, brain MRI, cognitive decline, comorbid pathology
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Atrophy, Brain, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Biomarkers, Neurofilament Proteins, Leukoencephalopathies

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