Temporal Profile of Serum Neurofilament Light (NF-L) and Heavy (pNF-H) Level Associations With 6-Month Cognitive Performance in Patients With Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

The sample size was relatively small, and analytic sub-cohorts varied due to missing blood draws or follow-up data. Participants were selected based on their ability to complete neurocognitive testing, which biases the sample toward those with better outcomes. The cohort was skewed toward younger individuals with more severe injuries due to survivorship bias. Correlational analyses were not corrected for multiple comparisons, increasing the risk of false positives. Diffuse axonal injury was identified via CT, which has low sensitivity for this condition, likely leading to underestimation of injury prevalence. The study did not account for how prior comorbidities like cardiovascular risk or psychiatric disorders might influence neurofilament levels.

One author (KKW) is a shareholder of Gryphon Bio, Inc.

Do not use these biomarkers to guide individual patient care or predict specific cognitive deficits in your clinic. The study is observational, the sample is small and biased toward survivors who could complete testing, and no clinically validated thresholds were established. The associations found are statistical, not diagnostic.