Data from: Serum neurofilament light: a biomarker of neuroaxonal injury after ischemic stroke

Objective: To explore the utility of serum neurofilament light chain
(sNfL) as a biomarker for primary and secondary neuroaxonal injury after
ischemic stroke (IS) and study its value for the prediction of clinical
outcome. Methods: We used an ultrasensitive single-molecule array (Simoa)
assay to measure sNfL levels in healthy controls (HC, N=30) and two
independent cohorts of patients with IS: (1) with serial serum sampling at
hospital arrival (N=196), at days 2, 3, and 7 (N=89), and up to 6 months
post-stroke; (2) with standardized MRI at baseline and at 6 months
post-stroke, and with cross-sectional serum sampling at 6 months (N=95).
We determined the temporal profile of sNfL levels, their association with
imaging markers of neuroaxonal injury, and with clinical outcome. Results:
Patients with IS had higher sNfL levels compared with HC starting from
admission until 6 months post-stroke. sNfL levels peaked at day 7 (211.2
pg/ml [104.7–442.6], median [IQR]) and correlated with infarct volumes
(day 7: partial r=0.736, p=1.5x10-15). 6 months post-stroke patients with
recurrent ischemic lesions on MRI (N=19) had higher sNfL compared to those
without new lesions (N=76, p=0.002). sNfL levels 6 months post-stroke
further correlated with a quantitative measure of secondary
neurodegeneration obtained from DTI MRI (r=0.361, p=0.001). sNfL levels 7
days post-stroke independently predicted modified Rankin scale scores 3
months post-stroke (cumulative OR [95% confidence interval] = 2.35
[1.60-3.45]; p=1.24x10-05). Conclusions: sNfL holds promise as a biomarker
for monitoring primary and secondary neuroaxonal injury after IS and for
predicting functional outcome.