Labcorp (NYSE:LH) announced today that it launched a test that provides direct evidence of neurodegeneration and neuronal injury.
Burlington, North Carolina-based Labcorp designed its neurofilament light chain (NfL) blood test to allow doctors to identify and verify signs of neurodegenerative disease, enabling physicians to provide a more effective and efficient path to diagnosis and treatment for patients.
According to a news release, elevated NfL levels signal neuronal injury, whether from diseases like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, or from brain injury like with concussion.
“NfL is a simple, objective blood test that provides direct evidence of neuronal damage,” Labcorp Diagnostics CMO and President Dr. Brian Caveney said in the release. “In making this test widely available, Labcorp is supporting neurologists with a tool they’ve been asking for that enables faster diagnoses, better treatment decisions and improved patient care. It’s a major step forward in the monitoring and identification of patients with neuronal injury due to disease or trauma.”
Labcorp said in the release that a reliable NfL test has not been widely available for patient care and, with broad availability, can now provide significant benefits in supporting more effective diagnosis and treatment of many disorders.
The test is performed from a standard blood collection that can be done at a hospital, physician’s office or at any of Labcorp’s nearly 2,000 patient service centers.
“Importantly, NfL isn’t specific to one disease, but it is highly specific to neuronal damage from a wide variety of causes, from Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis to concussion and physical injury. This test will be impactful in helping many patients,” added Dr. Joseph Volpe, neurology business segment and discipline director at Labcorp. “Serial use of NfL testing can help doctors to follow trends that indicate the effectiveness of medicines or therapies, or whether there is continued injury or disease progression.”