Department of Medicine, Surgery, Neuroscience University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 18;14(1):6429. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57093-z.
Given the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears of paramount importance to assess the cognitive effects on the population returning to work after COVID-19 resolution. Serum levels of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP) represent promising biomarkers of neuro-axonal damage and astrocytic activation. In this cohort study, we explored the association between sNfL and sGFAP concentrations and cognitive performance in a group of 147 adult workers with a previous asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection or mild COVID-19, one week and, in 49 of them, ten months after SARS-Cov2 negativization and compared them to a group of 82 age and BMI-matched healthy controls (HCs). sNfL and sGFAP concentrations were assessed using SimoaTM assay Neurology 2-Plex B Kit. COVID-19 patients were interviewed one-on-one by trained physicians and had to complete a list of questionnaires, including the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ). At the first assessment (T0), sNfL and sGFAP levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than in HCs (p < 0.001 for both). The eleven COVID-19 patients with cognitive impairment had significantly higher levels of sNfL and sGFAP than the others (p = 0.005 for both). At the subsequent follow-up (T1), sNfL and sGFAP levels showed a significant decrease (median sNfL 18.3 pg/mL; median sGFAP 77.2 pg/mL), although they were still higher than HCs (median sNfL 7.2 pg/mL, median sGFAP 63.5 pg/mL). Our results suggest an ongoing damage involving neurons and astrocytes after SARS-Cov2 negativization, which reduce after ten months even if still evident compared to HCs.
鉴于 COVID-19 大流行的巨大影响，评估人群在 COVID-19 解决后返回工作岗位的认知影响似乎至关重要。血清神经丝轻链（sNfL）和胶质纤维酸性蛋白（sGFAP）水平代表神经轴突损伤和星形胶质细胞激活的有前途的生物标志物。在这项队列研究中，我们在一组 147 名以前无症状 SARS-CoV-2 感染或轻度 COVID-19 的成年工人中，在 SARS-CoV2 转阴后一周和其中 49 名工人十个月后，探索了 sNfL 和 sGFAP 浓度与认知表现之间的关联，并将其与一组 82 名年龄和 BMI 匹配的健康对照者（HCs）进行了比较。使用 SimoaTM 测定法测定血清神经丝轻链和胶质纤维酸性蛋白浓度。Neurology 2-Plex B Kit。COVID-19 患者由经过培训的医生进行一对一访谈，并必须完成一系列问卷，包括认知失败问卷（CFQ）。在第一次评估（T0）时，COVID-19 患者的 sNfL 和 sGFAP 水平明显高于 HCs（两者均 p < 0.001）。11 名认知障碍的 COVID-19 患者的 sNfL 和 sGFAP 水平明显高于其他患者（两者均 p = 0.005）。在随后的随访（T1）中，sNfL 和 sGFAP 水平均显示出显著下降（中位数 sNfL 为 18.3pg/mL；中位数 sGFAP 为 77.2pg/mL），尽管它们仍高于 HCs（中位数 sNfL 为 7.2pg/mL，中位数 sGFAP 为 63.5pg/mL）。我们的结果表明，SARS-CoV2 转阴后，神经元和星形胶质细胞仍持续受损，十个月后虽有所下降，但与 HCs 相比仍明显。
