TY  - JOUR
AU  - Coors, Annabell
AU  - Bönniger, Meta-Miriam
AU  - Santos, Marina
AU  - Lohner, Valerie
AU  - Koch, Alexandra
AU  - Ettinger, Ulrich
AU  - Aziz, N Ahmad
AU  - Breteler, Monique M B
TI  - Associations of Plasma Neurofilament Light Levels With Brain Microstructure and Macrostructure and Cognition in the Community-Based Rhineland Study.
JO  - Neurology
VL  - 104
IS  - 6
SN  - 0028-3878
CY  - Philadelphia, Pa.
PB  - Wolters Kluwer
M1  - DZNE-2025-00333
SP  - e210278
PY  - 2025
AB  - Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) level is a sensitive yet aspecific marker of neurodegeneration. Its neuroanatomical and functional correlates in the general population are not fully elucidated. We thus assessed how brain's macrostructures and microstructures and cognitive function are related to plasma NfL levels in cognitively unimpaired adults over a wide age range.Our analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the Rhineland Study, a community-based prospective cohort study. This study includes people from the age of 30 onwards who live in 2 geographically defined areas in Bonn, Germany, and have sufficient command of the German language. Plasma NfL levels were measured using the Simoa platform and then log-transformed and adjusted for plate position, batch number, and Analyzer (HD-1 or HD-X). Brain imaging data were collected on a 3 Tesla scanner and included volumetric measures, metrics of the diffusion tensor and the neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging model, and white matter hyperintensity load. Memory performance, processing speed, and executive function were assessed using traditional cognitive tasks and an eye movement battery. We used multivariable regression models to assess the relations between brain structure and plasma NfL levels and between plasma NfL levels and cognitive performance.The study sample consisted of 5,589 participants aged 30-95 years (mean age 55 ± 13.7 years, 56.1
KW  - Humans
KW  - Male
KW  - Female
KW  - Middle Aged
KW  - Neurofilament Proteins: blood
KW  - Aged
KW  - Cognition: physiology
KW  - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW  - Brain: diagnostic imaging
KW  - Adult
KW  - Aged, 80 and over
KW  - Germany
KW  - Prospective Studies
KW  - Neuropsychological Tests
KW  - White Matter: diagnostic imaging
KW  - White Matter: pathology
KW  - Cohort Studies
KW  - Biomarkers: blood
KW  - Neurofilament Proteins (NLM Chemicals)
KW  - neurofilament protein L (NLM Chemicals)
KW  - Biomarkers (NLM Chemicals)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:39977717
DO  - DOI:10.1212/WNL.0000000000210278
UR  - https://pub.dzne.de/record/276820
ER  -