NFL plasma concentration a sensitive new biomarker for identifying central nervous system injury
Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have devised a method for detecting injury to the central nervous system by examining blood plasma. The approach, which has been tested thus far on individuals with HIV-associated brain injury, opens the door to diagnosis of a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders without taking invasive samples of the cerebrospinal fluid.While the level of the neurofilament light protein (NFL) in the cerebrospinal fluid represents a sensitive marker of neuronal injury, its clinical potential is limited by the need to perform lumbar puncture.