Journal article
Plasma Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Neurofilament Light Are Elevated in Bipolar Depression: Evidence for Neuroprogression and Astrogliosis
MJY Kang, D Eratne, O Dean, M Berk, AJ Walker, C Wannan, CB Malpas, C Cicognola, S Janelidze, O Hansson, J Grewal, PB Mitchell, M Hopwood, C Pantelis, AF Santillo, D Velakoulis
Bipolar Disorders | Published : 2025
DOI: 10.1111/bdi.70029
Abstract
Background: Recent advances now allow detection of brain-specific proteins in blood, including neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of axonal pathology, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), indicative of astrocytic activation. Given the evidence of astroglial pathology and neuronal dysfunction in bipolar disorder, and ongoing debates on neuroprogression, we investigated plasma NfL and GFAP levels in affected individuals. Methods: This study analysed plasma NfL and GFAP measured in 216 individuals using Simoa. We used bootstrapped general linear models (GLM) to compare plasma NfL and GFAP levels between people with bipolar depression (n = 120) and healthy controls (n = 96), adjust..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Cooperative Research Centres, Australian Government Department of Industry