Neurofilament light level correlates with brain atrophy, and cognitive and motor performance

dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorKartau, Margeen_US
dc.contributor.authorMelkas, Susannaen_US
dc.contributor.authorKartau, Joonasen_US
dc.contributor.authorArola, Anneen_US
dc.contributor.authorLaakso, Hannaen_US
dc.contributor.authorPitkänen, Johannaen_US
dc.contributor.authorLempiäinen, Juhaen_US
dc.contributor.authorKoikkalainen, Juhaen_US
dc.contributor.authorLötjönen, Jyrkien_US
dc.contributor.authorKorvenoja, Anttien_US
dc.contributor.authorAhlström, Mattien_US
dc.contributor.authorHerukka, Sanna Kaisaen_US
dc.contributor.authorErkinjuntti, Timoen_US
dc.contributor.authorJokinen, Hannaen_US
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineeringen
dc.contributor.organizationUniversity of Helsinkien_US
dc.contributor.organizationCombinostics Ltden_US
dc.contributor.organizationUniversity of Eastern Finlanden_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-20T05:14:37Z
dc.date.available2023-02-20T05:14:37Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-05en_US
dc.descriptionPublisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Kartau, Melkas, Kartau, Arola, Laakso, Pitkänen, Lempiäinen, Koikkalainen, Lötjönen, Korvenoja, Ahlström, Herukka, Erkinjuntti and Jokinen.
dc.description.abstractBackground: The usefulness of neurofilament light (NfL) as a biomarker for small vessel disease has not been established. We examined the relationship between NfL, neuroimaging changes, and clinical findings in subjects with varying degrees of white matter hyperintensity (WMH). Methods: A subgroup of participants (n = 35) in the Helsinki Small Vessel Disease Study underwent an analysis of NfL in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as well as brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological and motor performance assessments. WMH and structural brain volumes were obtained with automatic segmentation. Results: CSF NfL did not correlate significantly with total WMH volume (r = 0.278, p = 0.105). However, strong correlations were observed between CSF NfL and volumes of cerebral grey matter (r = −0.569, p < 0.001), cerebral cortex (r = −0.563, p < 0.001), and hippocampi (r = −0.492, p = 0.003). CSF NfL also correlated with composite measures of global cognition (r = −0.403, p = 0.016), executive functions (r = −0.402, p = 0.017), memory (r = −0.463, p = 0.005), and processing speed (r = −0.386, p = 0.022). Regarding motor performance, CSF NfL was correlated with Timed Up and Go (TUG) test (r = 0.531, p = 0.001), and gait speed (r = −0.450, p = 0.007), but not with single-leg stance. After adjusting for age, associations with volumes in MRI, functional mobility (TUG), and gait speed remained significant, whereas associations with cognitive performance attenuated below the significance level despite medium to large effect sizes. Conclusion: NfL was strongly related to global gray matter and hippocampal atrophy, but not to WMH severity. NfL was also associated with motor performance. Our results suggest that NfL is independently associated with brain atrophy and functional mobility, but is not a reliable marker for cerebral small vessel disease.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationKartau, M, Melkas, S, Kartau, J, Arola, A, Laakso, H, Pitkänen, J, Lempiäinen, J, Koikkalainen, J, Lötjönen, J, Korvenoja, A, Ahlström, M, Herukka, S K, Erkinjuntti, T & Jokinen, H 2023, ' Neurofilament light level correlates with brain atrophy, and cognitive and motor performance ', Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, vol. 14, 939155 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.939155en
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fnagi.2022.939155en_US
dc.identifier.issn1663-4365
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: c73b1a88-2b44-4073-828f-db0914aa9f26en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/c73b1a88-2b44-4073-828f-db0914aa9f26en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146531336&partnerID=8YFLogxKen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/100221600/Neurofilament_light_level_correlates_with_brain_atrophy_and_cognitive_and_motor_performance.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/119801
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-202302202148
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherFrontiers Research Foundation
dc.relation.ispartofseriesFrontiers in Aging Neuroscienceen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 14en
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.subject.keywordbrain atrophyen_US
dc.subject.keywordcognitive performanceen_US
dc.subject.keywordmotor performanceen_US
dc.subject.keywordneurofilament lighten_US
dc.subject.keywordsmall vessel diseaseen_US
dc.subject.keywordwhite matter hyperintensitiesen_US
dc.titleNeurofilament light level correlates with brain atrophy, and cognitive and motor performanceen
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion

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