| Summary: | Cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light and plasma
neurofilament light concentrations are elevated in patients with mild cognitive
impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. We investigated the clinical relevance of
increased neurofilament light concentrations in mild cognitive impairment and
Alzheimer’s disease patients. In this study, 244 subjects were
divided into cognitively normal control (n = 67), stable mild cognitive
impairment (n = 52), progressive mild cognitive impairment (n = 68), and
Alzheimer’s disease (n = 57). Linear regression examined the relationships
between neurofilament light levels in cerebrospinal fluid or plasma and the
diagnostic group. The relationships between neurofilament light and other
biomarkers were assessed by Spearman correlation. Linear mixed-effects models
were used to test cerebrospinal fluid and plasma neurofilament light as
predictors of Alzheimer’s disease characteristics, including cognition, cortical
glucose metabolism, and brain structure. Cerebrospinal fluid
and plasma neurofilament light levels were significantly elevated in Alzheimer’s
disease. Still, the correlations between neurofilament light and other
cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers within the diagnostic groups were often not
statistically significant. In addition, the diagnostic accuracy of cerebrospinal
fluid and plasma neurofilament light for progressive mild cognitive impairment
and Alzheimer’s disease was almost the same as that of cerebrospinal fluid total
tau (T-tau). It is phosphorylated tau (P-tau) and high cerebrospinal fluid.
Neurofilament light predicted conversion from mild cognitive impairment to
Alzheimer’s disease. A high neurofilament light is related to poor cognition, low
cerebral metabolism, hippocampal atrophy, and ventricular enlargement caused by
Alzheimer’s disease. Our work further identifies
cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light and plasma neurofilament light as
biomarkers of axonal degeneration in patients with mild cognitive impairment and
Alzheimer’s disease.
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