Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40346521›Full record

ArticleBMC nephrology2025

Plasma concentrations of neurofilament light, p-Tau231 and glial fibrillary acidic protein are elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease and correlate with measured glomerular filtration rate.

Torunn Axelsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Burak Arslan, Nicholas J Ashton, Markus Axelsson, Maria K Svensson, Aso Saeed, Gregor Guron

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC nephrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

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  8. Age-Specific Clinical Biomarker Ranges in Acute Head Injury, Non-TBI Trauma, and Healthy Control Subjects in the Emergency Department.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Torunn AxelssonDepartment of Molecular and Clinical Medicine/Nephrology, Institute of Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. torunn.hie.axelsson@gu.se.
Henrik ZetterbergDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Kaj BlennowDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Burak ArslanDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Nicholas J AshtonDepartment of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Markus AxelssonDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Maria K SvenssonDepartment of Medical Sciences, Renal Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Aso SaeedDepartment of Molecular and Clinical Medicine/Nephrology, Institute of Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Gregor GuronDepartment of Molecular and Clinical Medicine/Nephrology, Institute of Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high prevalence of cerebrovascular disease and cognitive impairment. The objective was to analyse whether plasma concentrations of neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and phosphorylated Tau231 (p-Tau231) are elevated in patients with CKD and to identify independent predictors of these biomarkers, with an emphasis on the role of measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR).

methodsIn this cross-sectional cohort study, we included 110 patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 (estimated GFR 15-59 ml/min/1.73 m

resultsPlasma concentrations (median [IQR]) of NfL (37.5 [22.1-47.5] vs. 13.4 [10.5-16.7] ng/L, p < 0.001), p-Tau231 (25.7 [19.1-38.7] vs. 13.9 [10.5-16.3] ng/L, p < 0.001) and GFAP (190 [140-281] vs. 153 [116-211] ng/L, p < 0.001) were elevated in patients with CKD vs. controls. Measured GFR was negatively correlated with NfL (r = - 0.706, p < 0.001), p-Tau231 (r = - 0.561, p < 0.001), and GFAP (r = - 0.385, p < 0.001). In multivariable linear regression models, mGFR was an independent predictor of log-transformed plasma concentrations of NfL (standardized beta coefficient [β] = - 0.439, p < 0.001) and GFAP (β = - 0.321, p < 0.001).

conclusionPatients with CKD had elevated plasma concentrations of NfL, p-Tau231 and GFAP compared with controls, and these biomarkers were inversely correlated with mGFR. Measured GFR was a significant, independent predictor of plasma concentrations of NfL and GFAP in patients with CKD. The mechanisms underlying this association need further investigation. Plasma levels of NfL and GFAP should be interpreted cautiously in patients with marked reductions in GFR.

Indexed as

Glial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinGlomerular Filtration RateNeurofilament ProteinsRenal Insufficiency, Chronictau ProteinsAgedBiomarkersCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersGFAP protein, humanGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinMAPT protein, humanneurofilament protein LNeurofilament Proteinstau ProteinsChronic kidney diseaseGlial fibrillary acidic proteinGlomerular filtration rateNeurofilament lightTau

Identifiers

PMID40346521
PMCPMC12065258

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.