Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42230361›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurology2026

Serum neurofilaments for motoneuron and dementia diseases: a German multicenter cohort study.

Lorenzo Barba, Petra Steinacker, Steffen Halbgebauer, Patrick Oeckl, Bernhard Landwehrmeyer, Jochen Weishaupt, Federico Verde, Nicola Ticozzi, Vincenzo Silani, Johannes Levin and 17 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

27 authors.

Lorenzo BarbaDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1328-3620
Petra SteinackerDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Steffen HalbgebauerDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Patrick OecklDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Bernhard LandwehrmeyerDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Jochen WeishauptDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Federico VerdeDepartment of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Nicola TicozziDepartment of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Vincenzo SilaniDepartment of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
Johannes LevinDepartment of Neurology, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Sonja SchöneckerDepartment of Neurology, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Johannes KornhuberDepartment of Psychiatry, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Johannes PrudloDepartment of Neurology, University of Rostock, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Rostock, Germany.
Matthias L SchroeterClinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Clinic Leipzig, and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Klaus FassbenderDepartment of Neurology, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
Klaus FliessbachDepartment of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Bonn and DZNE Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Janine Diehl-SchmidDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health, TUM University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
Holger JahnDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Martin LauerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Johannes DorstDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Angela RosenbohmDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Samir Abu-RumeilehDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Sarah Anderl-StraubDepartment of Neurology, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany.
Marie SöntgerthDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Fabiola BöhmDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Jens WiltfangDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen, and DZNE, Goettingen, Germany.
Markus OttoDepartment of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany. markus.otto@uk-halle.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4273-4267

Funding

EFRE InfraProNet 100757914Martin Luther Christian University JCS24/02Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg CS22/06Ministero della Salute RF-2021-12374238)Sächsische Aufbaubank TelDem
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSerum neurofilament light and heavy chains (sNfL and sNfH) have been assessed as neuronal markers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and dementias. Whereas sNfL has robust literature, systematic studies on sNfH are lacking. Here, we aimed to assess the diagnostic value of sNfH in comparison to sNfL in a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders.

methodsWe measured with immunoassays sNfH and sNfL in patients recruited in the multicenter German Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) Consortium (n = 340) and in a single-center German cohort (n = 290). We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of serum biomarkers for ALS and dementia subtypes and their relationship with cognitive impairment.

resultssNfH and sNfL were significantly increased in ALS (n = 90) vs. controls (n = 109) and ALS mimics (n = 56, p < 0.001), with sNfL showing higher discriminative accuracy (AUC = 0.94-0.95) than sNfH (AUC = 0.87-0.88). sNfH/sNfL ratio did not improve the diagnostic performance. Both markers were elevated in patients with dementia (n = 289) vs. controls (p < 0.001). sNfL was higher in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) than in Alzheimer's disease (AD), whereas sNfH was similar in AD, PPA and bvFTD. sNfL, but not sNfH, was correlated with cognitive impairment at baseline and cognitive decline at follow-up in AD and bvFTD.

conclusionssNfH and sNfL are elevated in motoneuron and dementia disorders. sNfH showed good discriminative accuracy for ALS, which was slightly lower than that of sNfL. sNfL, but not sNfH, showed prognostic value for assessing cognitive decline in dementia.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisDementiaNeurofilament ProteinsAgedBiomarkersCohort StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersneurofilament protein Hneurofilament protein LNeurofilament ProteinsALSBiomarkersDementiaNeurofilamentsNfL

Identifiers

PMID42230361
PMCPMC13230245

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.