Elevated plasma neurofilament light in aging reflects brain white-matter alterations but does not predict cognitive decline or Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

IntroductionWe investigated neurofilament light (NFL) accumulation in normal aging as well as in preclinical and clinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) and assessed individual differences in NFL load in relation to cognition and brain white-matter integrity.MethodsWe analyzed longitudinal data covering 30 years (1988-2017). Cognitive testing was done up to six times. Plasma NFL was quantified for controls and 142 cases who developed AD over time, and longitudinal changes in NFL were quantified for 100 individuals with three brain-imaging sessions.ResultsLongitudinal analyses revealed age-related NFL increases with marked variability. AD cases had elevated NFL levels, while no significant group differences were seen in the preclinical phase. Variability in NFL levels showed non-significant correlations with cognition but was associated with brain white matter.DiscussionOur findings suggest that elevated blood NFL, likely reflecting brain white-matter alterations, characterizes clinical AD, while NFL levels do not predict age-related cognitive impairment or impending AD.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease; biomarker; brain white matter; cognition; early prediction; longitudinal; neurofilament light

Published in

Alzheimer's & dementia. Diagnosis, assessment & disease monitoring
2020, volume: 12, number: 1, article number: e12050
Publisher: WILEY

SLU Authors

• Lundquist, Anders

  • Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Umeå University

UKÄ Subject classification

Neurosciences

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12050

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/123179