AUTHOR=Lanzone Jacopo , Zulueta Aida , Boscarino Marilisa , Gallotta Matteo , Argentieri Maria Rosaria , Viganò Alessandro , Sarasso Simone , Colombo Michele A. , D’Ambrosio Sasha , Lunetta Christian , Parati Eugenio 

TITLE=Spectral exponent assessment and neurofilament light chain: a comprehensive approach to describe recovery patterns in stroke

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1329044

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2024.1329044

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Understanding the residual recovery potential in stroke patients is crucial for tailoring effective neurorehabilitation program<bold>s.</bold> We propose using EEG and plasmatic Neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels as a model to depict longitudinal patterns of stroke recovery.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>We enrolled 13 patients (4 female, mean age 74.7 ± 8.8) who underwent stroke in the previous month and were hospitalized for 2-months rehabilitation. Patients underwent blood withdrawal, clinical evaluation and high-definition EEG at T1 (first week of rehabilitation) and at T2 (53 ± 10 days after). We assessed the levels of NfL and we analyzed the EEG signal extracting Spectral Exponent (SE) values. We compared our variables between the two timepoint and between cortical and non-cortical strokes.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>We found a significant difference in the symmetry of SE values between cortical and non-cortical stroke at both T1 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.005) and T2 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.01). SE in the affected hemisphere showed significantly steeper values at T1 when compared with T2 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.001). EEG measures were consistently related to clinical scores, while NfL at T1 was related to the volume of ischemic lesions (<italic>r</italic> = 0.75; <italic>p</italic> = 0.003). Additionally, the combined use of NfL and SE indicated varying trends in longitudinal clinical recovery.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>We present proof of concept of a promising approach for the characterization of different recovery patterns in stroke patients.</p></sec>