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- Grahn, Anna, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in patients with varicella-zoster virus CNS infections.
- 2013
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In: Journal of neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1459 .- 0340-5354. ; 260:7, s. 1813-1821
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is one of our most common viruses causing central nervous system (CNS) infection with sometimes severe neurological complications. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp), light subunit of neurofilament protein (NFL) and S-100β protein are cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers that have been used to estimate the severity of brain damage and outcome in various CNS diseases. So far, these biomarkers have not been utilised to investigate glial pathology and neuronal damage in patients with VZV CNS infections. In this prospective study, we measured CSF GFAp, NFL and S-100β as markers of brain damage in 24 patients with acute neurological manifestations and VZV DNA detected in CSF by PCR and compared with a control group (n = 14). Concentrations of CSF NFL and GFAp were increased in patients with VZV CNS infection compared with controls (p = 0.002 and p = 0.03) while levels of S-100β were reduced. In patients with VZV encephalitis the elevations of CSF NFL and GFAp were more pronounced compared with patients with other VZV CNS syndromes. No correlations between the levels of biomarkers and viral load, neurological sequels or clinical outcome were found in this limited number of patients. These results indicate that VZV induces neuronal damage and astrogliosis with more severe brain damage in patients with VZV encephalitis than in patients with other neurological complications caused by this virus.
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| 2. |
- Pedersen, Annie, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Circulating neurofilament light in ischemic stroke: temporal profile and outcome prediction
- 2019
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In: Journal of Neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5354 .- 1432-1459. ; 266:11, s. 2796-2806
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and purpose Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a marker of neuroaxonal damage. We aimed to study associations between serum NfL (sNfL) concentrations at different time points after ischemic stroke and outcomes. Methods We prospectively included ischemic stroke cases (n = 595, mean age 59 years, 64% males) and assessed outcomes by both the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and the NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) at 3 months and by mRS at 2 years. In a subsample, long-term (7-year) outcomes were also assessed by both mRS and NIHSS. We used the ultrasensitive single-molecule array assay to measure sNfL in the acute phase (range 1–14, median 4 days), after 3 months and 7 years in cases and once in controls (n = 595). Results Acute-phase sNfL increased by the time to blood-draw and highest concentrations were observed at 3 months post-stroke. High sNfL associated to stroke severity and poor outcomes, and both associations were strongest for 3-month sNfL. After adjusting for age, previous stroke, stroke severity, and day of blood draw, 3-month sNfL was significantly associated to both outcomes at all time points (p < 0.01 throughout). For all main etiological subtypes, both acute phase and 3-month sNfL were significantly higher than in controls, but the dynamics of sNfL differed by stroke subtype. Conclusions The results from this study inform on sNfL in ischemic stroke and subtypes over time, and show that sNfL predicts short- and long-term neurological and functional outcomes. Our findings suggest a potential utility of sNfL in ischemic stroke outcome prediction.
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