Every year, 150,000 people suffer a stroke in France, according to the Ministry of Health.
This common pathology is at the heart of numerous studies, the latest of which were published on Wednesday July 24, 2024 in the journal Circulation.
Neurofilament levels in the blood observed under the microscope
Researchers at Uppsala University Hospital and University in Sweden have developed a blood test that can predict the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillationthe most common cardiac arrhythmia, which affects around 200,000 people in France, and frequently causes strokes.
The test is designed to measure neurofilament levelsa biomarker of brain health, in the blood. Researchers found that high levels of neurofilament are associated with an increased risk of stroke.
For their study, they analyzed the levels of this biomarker in blood samples from more than 3,000 patients suffering from atrial fibrillation.
Over an average follow-up period of one and a half years, people with the highest neurofilament levels ran a risk of stroke more than three times higher to that of people with the lowest rates.
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Results used for cardiovascular disorders?
This work again improves stroke prediction capabilities.
“We have never been able to measure the effect of atrial fibrillation on the brain in this way. […] “We have known about neurofilament for a long time, but it is only in recent years that we have begun to understand how to use it,” says Karl Sjölin, stroke specialist and co-author of the study.
The research team plans to study the impact of different treatments on neurofilament levels and determine whether this affects stroke or mortality risk.
These results could also be transferable “to other groups of patients suffering from cardiovascular disorders,” says Julia Aulin, cardiologist and lead author of the study. However, this hypothesis remains to be studied.
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