Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
J Neuroimaging. 2021 Mar;31(2):388-393. doi: 10.1111/jon.12826. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
Serum neurofilament light (sNfL) has been studied as a biomarker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). Several factors, including age, can influence its dynamics, and several studies have shown that sNfL increases with age in controls. Our objective was to explore the relationship of sNfL and age at different MS disease stages, including remission and after a gadolinium-enhancing (Gad+) lesion.
We included 94 patients with MS with annual sNfL measurements performed with a single-molecule array assay. We used multivariable linear mixed-effects models with random intercept to test the association between age and sNfL during remission and after a Gad+ lesion (ie, within 90 days after the Gad+ lesion). The model was adjusted for medication use and sex.
We report a positive association between sNfL level and age during remission (adjusted estimate = 1.18% yearly increase, 95% CI = .34-2.03%, P = .008). In contrast, a negative interaction between age and Gad+ lesion status was observed (adjusted estimate = -1.73%, 95% CI = -2.85 to -.58%, P = .004).
We propose that younger patients experience a greater elevation in sNfL than older patients in response to Gad+ lesions. Our study provides potential insights into the effects of aging on neuroinflammation in MS.
血清神经丝轻链（sNfL）已被研究作为多发性硬化症（MS）疾病活动的生物标志物。包括年龄在内的多种因素会影响其动态变化，多项研究表明在对照组中 sNfL 随年龄增长而增加。我们的目的是探索 sNfL 与不同 MS 疾病阶段（包括缓解期和钆增强（Gad+）病变后）的年龄之间的关系。
我们纳入了 94 例每年进行单次分子阵列检测的 MS 患者。我们使用具有随机截距的多变量线性混合效应模型，来检验缓解期和 Gad+病变后（即在 Gad+病变后 90 天内）年龄与 sNfL 之间的关联。模型调整了药物使用和性别因素。
我们报告了缓解期 sNfL 水平与年龄之间存在正相关（调整后估计值为每年增加 1.18%，95%CI：.34-2.03%，P=0.008）。相比之下，年龄与 Gad+病变状态之间存在负交互作用（调整后估计值为-1.73%，95%CI：-2.85 至-0.58%，P=0.004）。
我们提出，年轻患者在对 Gad+病变的反应中，sNfL 的升高幅度比老年患者更大。我们的研究为衰老对 MS 神经炎症的影响提供了潜在的见解。
