ArticleMuscle & nerve2025
Neurofilament Light Chain Levels, Skeletal Muscle Loss, and Nutritional Decline: Key Prognostic Factors in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Article in Muscle & nerve, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Mass and Sarcopenia as Prognostic Markers in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Article
- Association of neurofilament light chain, CXCL9, IL-6, and TNFRSF11B with intrinsic capacity in community-dwelling older adults.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Agreement between bioimpedance-measured and calf-derived appendicular skeletal muscle mass in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Blood Lactate as a Prognostic Biomarker for Survival and Weight Loss in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Exploratory-Validation Study.Annals of neurology · 2026Article
- The Gut Microbiome in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Emerging Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Medical nutrition therapy for ALS: Dietitians' approaches to diagnosing malnutrition, facilitating feeding tube discussions, and mitigating refeeding syndrome risk.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Article
- Sarcopenia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a key predictor of respiratory dysfunction and disease progression.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/
aimsHypermetabolism and weight loss are established negative prognostic factors in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the role of individualized body composition parameters in predicting ALS progression has been underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between nutritional parameters, neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels, and disease progression in ALS patients.
methodsThe Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria were used to define malnutrition in this study. Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index and bioelectrical impedance analysis. The rate of disease progression was defined by the change in the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale score (ΔFRS). NfL was quantified using single molecule array technology. Spearman's analyses were used to assess correlations.
resultsSixty of 110 ALS patients were classified as malnourished. There was a strong positive correlation between NfL and ΔFRS (r = 0.71), and a moderate negative correlation with disease duration (r = -0.55). The correlations between NfL and body composition parameters were statistically significant, although weak. NfL levels were significantly higher in fast progressors (p < 0.0001 compared to slow progressors) and in malnourished patients (p = 0.0001). Of the 34 fast progressor patients, 28 (82%) exhibited some degree of malnutrition. DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that poor nutritional status, particularly reduced skeletal muscle mass-both independently and in combination with fat mass loss-is associated with elevated NfL levels and faster ALS progression. NfL, combined with nutritional parameters, could serve as a valuable biomarker for disease severity. Further research is warranted to clarify the role of skeletal muscle abnormalities in ALS progression.
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