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New insights into blood-based biomarkers of neurodegeneration

Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) and plasma total tau (T-tau) levels are emerging as useful biomarkers of neurodegeneration, researchers reported at the AAN conference.

Previous studies have identified associations of plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) and plasma total tau (T-tau) levels with worse cognition, decreased cortical and hippocampal thickness, and poorer white matter integrity.

But there has been little data on how plasma NfL or T-tau levels are associated with cognitive and neuroimaging outcomes. To investigate, researchers analyzed data on 995 participants without dementia in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (MCSA; median follow-up of 6 years).