AAN 2022 | Plasma NfL as a biomarker for frontotemporal dementia

Julio Rojas-Martinez, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, outlines the use of plasma neurofilament light (NfL), a marker of axonal injury, as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in frontotemporal dementia. Plasma NfL has diagnostic and prognostic value in several neurodegenerative disorders, and is observed at elevated levels in carriers of genetic mutations that cause frontotemporal dementia, even in prodromal stages. Dr Rojas-Martinez comments that the marker could be used to identify asymptomatic individuals with a higher risk of progressing to symptomatic disease, acting as a patient screening tool for clinics and clinical trials. This interview took place at the American Academy of Neurology 2022 Congress in Seattle, WA.