ArticleJournal of the peripheral nervous system : JPNS2023
Serum neurofilament light chain measurements following nerve trauma.
Article in Journal of the peripheral nervous system : JPNS, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Serum Biomarkers for Traumatic Peripheral Nerve Injury: A Systematic Review.Muscle & nerve · 2025Pooled it
- Localizing Nerve Injury, Defining Injury Severity, and Estimating Prognosis (Nerve SPACE 2025).Journal of hand surgery global online · 2026Article
- Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization of the Tibial ACL Remnant: Implications for Ligament Healing.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Peripheral nerve repair: innovations and future directions.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Association of Dietary Retinol Intake and Serum Neurofilament Light Chain Levels: Results from NHANES 2013-2014.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Serum neurofilament light chain measurements following nerve trauma.Journal of the peripheral nervous system : JPNS · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOptimal functional recovery following peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) is dependent upon early recognition and prompt referral to specialist centres for appropriate surgical intervention. Technologies which facilitate the early detection of PNI would allow faster referral rates and encourage improvements in patient outcomes. Serum Neurofilament light chain (NfL) measurements are cheaper to perform, easier to access and interpret than many conventional methods used for nerve injury diagnosis, such as electromyography and/or magnetic resonance imaging assessments, but changes in serum NfL levels following traumatic PNI have not been investigated. This pre-clinical study aimed to determine whether serum NfL levels can: (1) detect the presence of a nerve trauma and (2) delineate between different severities of nerve trauma.
methodsA rat sciatic nerve crush and common peroneal nerve crush were implemented as controlled animal models of nerve injury. At 1-, 3-, 7- and 21-days post-injury, serum samples were retrieved for analysis using the SIMOA® NfL analyser kit. Nerve samples were also retrieved for histological analysis. Static sciatic index (SSI) was measured at regular time intervals following injury.
resultsSignificant 45-fold and 20-fold increases in NfL serum levels were seen 1-day post-injury following sciatic and common peroneal nerve injury, respectively. This corresponded with an eightfold higher volume of axons injured in the sciatic compared to the common peroneal nerve (p < .001). SSI measurements post-injury revealed greater reduction in function in the sciatic crush group compared with the common peroneal crush group.
conclusionsNfL serum measurements represent a promising method for detecting traumatic PNI and stratifying their severity. Clinical translation of these findings could provide a powerful tool to improve the surgical management of nerve-injured patients.
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