ArticleBrain communications2022
Neurofilament light increases over time in severe COVID-19 and is associated with delirium.
Article in Brain communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Blood Biomarkers as Prognostic Indicators for Neurological Injury in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Prognostic performance of blood neurofilament light chain protein in hospitalized COVID-19 patients without major central nervous system manifestations: an individual participant data meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Human brain matters: Navigating the neuropathology of COVID-19.Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Persistent impairments in muscle function and symptom burden in post-COVID syndrome: a prospective longitudinal study.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Observational
- Multimodal analysis of cell-free DNA identifies epigenetic biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis and progression.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Blood-based biomarkers and delirium in critically ill adults in the ICU: a systematic review.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2026Review
- Multimodal analysis of cell-free DNA identifies epigenetic biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis and progression.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Delirium Management in Critical Care: Are We Moving Forward or Still Treading Water?Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Potential therapeutic benefit of exogenous ketone ester administration in delirium: a narrative review.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Review
- Serum biomarkers of delirium in critical illness: a systematic review of mechanistic and diagnostic evidence.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2025Review
- Delirium pathophysiology in cancer: neurofilament light chain biomarker - narrative review.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2025Review
- Neurological complications in oncology and their monitoring and management in clinical practice: a narrative review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Review
- Serum neurofilament light chain as a sensitive biomarker for neuromonitoring during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Neurofilaments as biomarkers in neurological disorders - towards clinical application.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2024Review
- Neurofilament Light Chain as a Biomarker of Neuronal Damage in Children With Malaria.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Persistent delirium is associated with cerebrospinal fluid markers of neuronal injury.Brain communications · 2024Article
- Neurofilament light chains to assess sepsis-associated encephalopathy: Are we on the track toward clinical implementation?Critical care (London, England) · 2023Review
- Delirium in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: Predictors and implications for patient outcome.PloS one · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neurological monitoring in sedated Intensive Care Unit patients is constrained by the lack of reliable blood-based biomarkers. Neurofilament light is a cross-disease biomarker for neuronal damage with potential clinical applicability for monitoring Intensive Care Unit patients. We studied the trajectory of neurofilament light over a month in Intensive Care Unit patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19 and explored its relation to clinical outcomes and pathophysiological predictors. Data were collected over a month in 31 Intensive Care Unit patients (166 plasma samples) diagnosed with severe COVID-19 at Amsterdam University Medical Centre, and in the first week after emergency department admission in 297 patients with COVID-19 (635 plasma samples) admitted to Massachusetts General hospital. We observed that Neurofilament light increased in a non-linear fashion in the first month of Intensive Care Unit admission and increases faster in the first week of Intensive Care Unit admission when compared with mild-moderate COVID-19 cases. We observed that baseline Neurofilament light did not predict mortality when corrected for age and renal function. Peak neurofilament light levels were associated with a longer duration of delirium after extubation in Intensive Care Unit patients. Disease severity, as measured by the sequential organ failure score, was associated to higher neurofilament light values, and tumour necrosis factor alpha levels at baseline were associated with higher levels of neurofilament light at baseline and a faster increase during admission. These data illustrate the dynamics of Neurofilament light in a critical care setting and show associations to delirium, disease severity and markers for inflammation. Our study contributes to determine the clinical utility and interpretation of neurofilament light levels in Intensive Care Unit patients.
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