Serum neurofilament light chain – A potential biomarker for polyneuropathy in type 2 diabetes?

Laura L. Määttä*, Signe T. Andersen, Tina Parkner, Claus V.B. Hviid, Lasse Bjerg, Mustafa A. Kural, Morten Charles, Esben Søndergaard, Annelli Sandbæk, Hatice Tankisi, Daniel R. Witte, Troels S. Jensen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Aims: To investigate the relationship between neurofilament light chain (NfL) and the presence and severity of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). Methods: We performed cross-sectional analysis of data from 178 participants of the ADDITION-Denmark cohort of people with screen-detected type 2 diabetes and 32 healthy controls. Biobank serum samples were analyzed for NfL using single-molecule array. DPN was defined by Toronto criteria for confirmed DPN. Original and axonal nerve conduction study (NCS) sum z-scores were used as indicators of the severity of DPN and peripheral nerve damage. Results: 39 (21.9%) participants had DPN. Serum NfL (s-NfL) was significantly higher in participants with DPN (18.8 ng/L [IQR 14.4; 27.9]) than in participants without DPN (15.4 ng/L [IQR 11.7; 20.1]). There were no unadjusted s-NfL differences between controls (17.6 ng/L [IQR 12.7; 19.8]) and participants with or without DPN. Higher original and axonal NCS sum z-scores were associated with 10% higher s-NfL (10.2 and 12.1% [95% CI's 4.0; 16.8 and 6.6; 17.9] per 1 SD). The AUC of s-NfL for DPN was 0.63 (95% CI 0.52; 0.73). Conclusions: S-NfL is unlikely to be a reliable biomarker for the presence of DPN. S-NfL is however associated to the severity of the nerve damage underlying DPN.

Original languageEnglish
Article number110988
JournalDiabetes Research and Clinical Practice
Volume205
Number of pages8
ISSN0168-8227
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • Biomarkers
  • Diabetic complications
  • Diabetic polyneuropathy
  • Neurofilaments
  • Type 2 diabetes

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