Acute-Phase Neurofilament Light and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Proteins in Cerebrospinal Fluid Predict Long-Term Outcome After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

This study investigated trajectory profiles and the association of concentrations of the biomarkers neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with clinical outcome at 1 year and 10–15 years after a severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).

This study included patients with sTBI at the Neurointensive Care Unit at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. The injury was regarded as severe if patients had a Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 8 corresponding to Reaction Level Scale ≥ 4. CSF was collected from a ventricular catheter during a 2-week period. Concentrations of NfL and GFAP in CSF were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) was used to assess the 1-year and 10–15-year outcomes. After adjustment for age and previous neurological diseases, logistic regression was performed for the outcomes GOS 1 (dead) or GOS 2–5 (alive) and GOS 1–3 (poor) or GOS 4–5 (good) versus the independent continuous variables (NfL and GFAP).

Fifty-three patients with sTBI were investigated; forty-seven adults are presented in the article, and six children (aged 7–18 years) are described in Supplement 1. The CSF concentrations of NfL gradually increased over 2 weeks post trauma, whereas GFAP concentrations peaked on days 3–4. Increasing NfL and GFAP CSF concentrations increased the odds of GOS 1–3 outcome 1 year after trauma (odds ratio [OR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–2.80, p = 0.025; and OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.09–2.37, p = 0.016, respectively). Similarly, increasing CSF concentrations of NfL and GFAP increased the odds for GOS 1–3 outcome 10–15 years after trauma (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.05–3.96, p = 0.035; and OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.02–2.00, p = 0.040).

This study shows that initial high concentrations of NfL and GFAP in CSF are both associated with higher odds for GOS 1–3 outcome 1 year and 10–15 years after an sTBI, implicating its potential usage as a prognostic marker in the future.