Affiliation:
1. Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
2. Department of Neurology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
3. Department of Neurology, Chengdu BOE Hospital, Chengdu, China
Abstract
Background. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a biomarker for large-caliber axonal degeneration in the subcortex. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between plasma neurofilament light chain (pNfL) and cognitive impairment following a posterior circulation stroke. Methods. Patients over the age of 18 with their first-ever acute ischemic stroke (AIS) of the posterior cerebral circulation within 24 h of symptom onset were included from July 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019. Blood samples were collected within 48 h after the stroke. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) (MOCA < 26) was adopted to define poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) 90 days after stroke onset. Results. A total of 264 patients were analyzed in this research 101 (38.30%) patients were clinically diagnosed with PSCI. The PNfL concentration was significantly higher in the PSCI group compared with the non-PSCI group (
). The pNfL concentration (OR 1.044;
) remained to be a significant predictor for PSCI after a multivariable logistic regression analysis, even after adjusting for factors including age, sex, education background (OR 1.044;
), baseline NIHSS, infarct volume, and TOAST classification (OR 1.035;
). The diagnostic efficacy of pNfL concentration for PSCI was then explored with a ROC analysis. The optimum pNfL concentration threshold was 38.12 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 78.20%, a specificity of 66.9%, and an AUC of 0.782 (
). Conclusion. This research showed that pNfL concentration, independent of established conventional risk factors, could predict the cognitive impairment in 90 days following posterior circulation stroke.
Funder
Health and Family Planning Commission of Sichuan Province
Subject
Complementary and alternative medicine