Levels and Age Dependency of Neurofilament Light and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein in Healthy Individuals and Their Relation to the Brain Parenchymal Fraction

BACKGROUND: Neurofilament light (NFL) and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) are integral parts of the axonal and astrocytal cytoskeletons respectively and are released into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cases of cellular damage. In order to interpret the levels of these biomarkers in disease states, knowledge on normal levels in the healthy is required. Another biomarker for neurodegeneration is brain atrophy, commonly measured as brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Potential correlations between levels of NFL, GFAP and BPF in healthy individuals have not been investigated. OBJECTIVES: To present levels of NFL and GFAP in healthy individuals stratified for age, and investigate the correlation between them as well as their correlation with BPF. METHODS: The CSF was analysed in 53 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 70 (1 sample missing for GFAP analysis) and 48 of the volunteers underwent determination of BPF using MRI. RESULTS: Mean (±SD) NFL was 355 ng/L (±214), mean GFAP was 421 ng/L (±129) and mean BPF was 0.867 (±0.035). All three biomarkers correlated with age. NFL also correlated with both GFAP and BPF. When controlled for age, only the correlation between NFL and GFAP retained statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents data on age-stratified levels of NFL and GFAP in the CSF of healthy individuals. There is a correlation between levels of NFL and GFAP and both increase with age. A correlation between NFL and BPF was also found, but did not retain statistical significance if controlled for age.