The Potential of Neurofilament Light as a Biomarker in Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive impairment. In 2011, the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) Research Framework has proposed to use biomarkers to diagnose AD in living persons. AD core biomarkers show high diagnostic specificity in distinguishing AD from healthy control subjects, but have little additional value for prognosis or stage of disease. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> With the update of detection methods and techniques, other AD biomarkers have been discovered. Neurofilament light (NFL) is currently recognized as a biomarker of nerve axonal injury and one of the candidate markers in AD neurodegeneration, and the relationship between NFL and AD pathophysiology has attracted widespread attention. More and more studies have shown that NFL plays an important role in predicting the clinical progress and prognosis of AD. Recently, the genome-wide association study also found that multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with NFL levels and AD risk. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> In this review, we discuss the relationship between the genetic characteristics of NFL and AD, the NFL levels in AD, and the relationship between NFL and AD core biomarkers, neuroimaging, and cognitive performance.