Measuring Levels Of NfL May Improve ALS Diagnosis And Prognosis, Study Finds

ALS News Today (3/3, Wexler) reports a study found that “measuring blood levels of neurofilament light chain, or NfL, a biomarker of nerve damage, may help in diagnosing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and in predicting the risk of death among people with the neurodegenerative condition.” Researchers noted that NfL “showed substantially better accuracy for both ALS diagnosis and prognosis than other blood markers,” and the “use of the NfL biomarker for testing is ‘suitable for individual assessment, unlike’ other measures.” They wrote, “In addition to helping in making the diagnosis, [having such a biomarker] can help in predicting prognosis, evaluating what stage of the disease people are in, and tracking their progress or their response to treatments.” The study was published in Neurology.