Quantification of neurofilament light and glial fibrillary acidic protein in finger-prick blood
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
An accurate diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury is important for prognostication and treatment. Neurofilament light and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) are leading biomarkers for neurodegeneration and glial activation that are detectable in blood. Yet, current recommendations require rapid centrifugation and ultra-low temperature storage post-venepuncture. Here, we investigated if these markers can be accurately measured in finger-prick blood using dried plasma spot cards. Fifty patients (46 with dementia; 4 with traumatic brain injury) and 19 healthy volunteers underwent finger-prick and venous sampling using dried plasma spot cards and aligned plasma sampling. Neurofilament light and GFAP were quantified using a Single molecule array assay and correlations between plasma and dried plasma spot cards assessed. Biomarker concentrations in plasma and finger-prick dried plasma spot samples were significantly positively correlated (neurofilament light ρ = 0.57; GFAP ρ = 0.58, P < 0.001). Finger-prick neurofilament light and GFAP were significantly elevated after acute traumatic brain injury with non-significant group-level increases in dementia (91% having Alzheimer’s disease dementia). In conclusion, we present preliminary evidence that quantifying GFAP and neurofilament light using finger-prick blood collection is viable, with samples stored at room temperature using dried plasma spot cards. This has potential to expand and promote equitable testing access, including in settings where trained personnel are unavailable to perform venepuncture.
Date Issued
2024-04-29
Date Acceptance
2024-04-25
Citation
Brain Communications, 2024, 6 (3)
ISSN
2632-1297
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Journal / Book Title
Brain Communications
Volume
6
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38903933
PII: fcae151
Subjects
biomarkers
Clinical Neurology
dementia
diagnosis
head injury
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
Science & Technology
testing
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
fcae151
Date Publish Online
2024-04-29