Abstract

Abstract Background Neurofilament light chain (NFL) has recently been identified as a sensitive biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in many neurological diseases. However, studies focused on NFL levels ranges in healthy individuals remain few, especially in the Chinese population. The clarification of the reference range among healthy individuals at different ages would be useful for further clinical utility. Objectives To evaluate the serum neurofilament light chain range at different ages in healthy Chinese and analyze the potential contributing factors for NFL levels. Methods Healthy individuals undergoing rigorous cognitive and neuroimaging detection were enrolled. Serum samples and plasma samples of different anticoagulants were collected for NFL levels detection by the ultra-sensitive Simoa HD-1 platform. The tendency of NFL levels to change with age and potential influence factors were analyzed. Results We enrolled three hundred and ninety-nine healthy participants. The positive correlation between serum NFL levels and age was observed and the regression formula was further established. There were no statistical differences between the <20 years group and the 20–29 years group (P = 0.2512), as well as the 60–69 years group and the 70–79 years group (P = 0.0528) and differences,were statistically significant among the remaining pairwise groups. We further observed the positive correlation between serum tNFL levels and age was 0.76 in total (P < 0.0001). The NFL levels between the serum and heparin plasma are statistically different and there was no statistical difference between the serum and plasma of other anticoagulants. Conclusions The age-related change pattern was uncovered, providing important assistance for the clinical use of NFL to monitor the potential neurological alterations for people of different ages.

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