Quanterix sNfL Assay and Simoa Technology First to Measure Neuronal Injury in COVID-19 Patients’ Blood
Findings offer first-time evidence of neuro-axonal damage in mild-to-moderate cases of SARS-CoV-2 and validate serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) as a highly specific biomarker to measure and monitor damage during and post infection
While COVID-19 manifests predominantly as a respiratory illness, numerous accounts and preliminary research studies connect the virus to multiple neurological conditions, including headache, stroke, cognitive loss, anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste). This body of evidence demonstrating the virus’s impact on the nervous system continues to grow, most recently with research in Brain linking COVID-19 to delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage. However, experts caution that it could require years of study to fully understand the long-term effects of these symptoms.
“It’s becoming alarmingly clear just how much we still do not understand about COVID-19 and how our testing regimen needs to improve in accuracy and precision,” said
Conducted by a team of researchers from the University Children’s Hospital Regensburg (KUNO) and the University Hospital Basel in
Results revealed that COVID-19 status was significantly associated with sNfL when controlling for age and gender. In patients with two sNfL measurements, sNfL levels were highly correlated. As NfL is a well-established marker for neuronal damage, elevated levels in serum suggest acute or chronic neuro-axonal damage as a result of COVID-19, even in mild or moderate forms.
“We’re proud to share this paper with the scientific community at-large, as we believe it offers important insight into neurological ramifications among a cohort that represents the vast majority of COVID-19 cases,” said
“It’s incredible to see members of the PPH network continuing to bring seminal research to light,” continued Hrusovsky. “This information is indispensable as we face a resurgence of the virus and medical supply shortages in numerous cities across the globe. Looking ahead, the ability to see indicators of COVID-19’s effects in blood creates the potential for regular screenings at clinics or via homecare sampling to validate these and other important findings on a larger scale. Expanding research through those pathways will also be vital to guiding therapeutic development, assessing the efficacy of vaccines and informing patient care decisions as we continue to learn more about the virus.”
The PPH network is working to solidify several important forums over the coming months that will encompass multiple therapeutic areas including COVID-19, neurology, public health policy and their intriguing intersection.
Further details on Quanterix’ infectious disease offerings and educational resources, can be accessed here: https://www.quanterix.com/therapeutic-areas/infectious-disease.
For more information on
Details on the company’s homebrew services for developing customer Simoa assays are available here: https://www.quanterix.com/products-technology/homebrew.
COVID-19 investigators with questions about Simoa or who are in need of testing support are encouraged to contact our team at: https://www.quanterix.com/contact.
For more details on PPH, visit: https://www.poweringprecisionhealth.org
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