Neurofilament Light Chain and Differentiation of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia From Psychiatric Disorders

Is neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood a viable aid in differentiating behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a neurodegenerative disorder with prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms, from psychiatric disorders?In this systematic review, NfL levels in CSF and blood were significantly higher among patients with bvFTD than patients with psychiatric disorders. NfL demonstrated reasonable sensitivity and specificity to differentiate bvFTD from psychiatric disorders, though diagnostic accuracy varied somewhat across studies.The findings in this systematic review indicate that NfL may help supplement clinical diagnostic evaluations in differentiating neurodegenerative disorders, such as bvFTD, from psychiatric disorder diagnoses, although additional research is needed.

Corresponding Author: Dimitry S. Davydow, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Florida, 4037 NW 86th Terr, Springhill One, Gainesville, FL 32606 (ddavydow@ufl.edu).

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