Age-adjusted sNfL z scores are higher in children with neurological conditions versus healthy children<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, Aug. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Measures of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) clinically differentiate children with neurological conditions versus healthy children, according to a study published online July 28 in The Lancet Neurology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ahmed Abdelhak, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues aimed to establish an age-adjusted sNfL reference range database in a population of 2,667 healthy children and adolescents (aged 0 to 22 years) and to validate the clinical applicability of this database in 220 pediatric patients (aged 1 to 19 years) with neurological conditions (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, bacterial central nervous system infections, pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease).<\/p>\n The researchers found that in the healthy population, sNfL concentrations decreased with age by an estimated 6.8 percent per year until age 10.3 years (estimated multiplicative effect per 1-year increase, 0.93; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.93 to 0.94; P < 0\u00c2\u00b70001) and was mostly stable thereafter up to age 22 years (1.00; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.94; P > 0.99). The magnitude of the effect of weight on sNfL concentrations was marginal and was independent of age. Among children with neurological conditions, age-adjusted sNfL z scores were higher versus healthy children and adolescents.<\/p>\n “Compared with absolute sNfL values, the use of sNfL z score was associated with higher effect size metrics and allowed for more accurate estimation of the extent of ongoing neuroaxonal damage in individual patients,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n