30 July 2020 - - Quantitative testing using US-based Quanterix Corp's (NASDAQ: QTRX) sNfL Assay and Simoa technology was used to show that COVID-19 may affect the neurological integrity of adult patients who experience a mild-to-moderate form of the virus, the company said.

Published in the Journal of Neurology, the study offers new evidence of SARS-CoV-2's neuro-destructive capabilities as it relates to less severe cases.

These results support the utility of sNfL as a screening and monitoring tool for measuring neuronal injury throughout COVID-19 disease progression and recovery, as well as lays the foundation for the evaluation of potential long-term neurological impact following COVID-19 recovery.

While COVID-19 manifests predominantly as a respiratory illness, numerous accounts and preliminary research studies connect the virus to multiple neurological conditions, including headache, stroke, cognitive loss, anosmia (loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of taste).

This body of evidence demonstrating the virus's impact on the nervous system continues to grow, most recently with research in Brain linking COVID-19 to delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage.

However, experts caution that it could require years of study to fully understand the long-term effects of these symptoms.

Conducted by a team of researchers from the University Children's Hospital Regensburg and the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, the study analyzed a cohort of 100 healthcare workers without known co-morbidities, composed of 84 females and 16 males, following a COVID-19 outbreak at a major hospital in Germany.

Subjects were stratified by infection status and age, and their sNfL concentrations were measured approximately 23 days after disease onset and again approximately 35 days later using the Simoa NF-light kit on the Simoa HD-X Analyzer.

Notably, all positive patients reported mild-to-moderate symptoms with recovery within one-to-three weeks and showed no or only minor neurological symptoms.

Results revealed that COVID-19 status was significantly associated with sNfL when controlling for age and gender. In patients with two sNfL measurements, sNfL levels were highly correlated.

As NfL is a well-established marker for neuronal damage, elevated levels in serum suggest acute or chronic neuro-axonal damage as a result of COVID-19, even in mild or moderate forms.

The PPH network is working to solidify several important forums over the coming months that will encompass multiple therapeutic areas including COVID-19, neurology, public health policy and their intriguing intersection.

Quanterix is a company that's digitizing biomarker analysis with the goal of advancing the science of precision health.

The company's digital health solution, Simoa, has the potential to change the way in which healthcare is provided by giving researchers the ability to closely examine the continuum from health to disease.

Quanterix' technology is designed to enable much earlier disease detection, better prognoses and enhanced treatment methods to improve the quality of life and longevity of the population for generations to come.

The technology is currently being used for research applications in several therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, cardiology, inflammation and infectious disease. The company was established in 2007 and is located in Billerica, Massachusetts.