Impact of COVID-19 on central nervous system biomarkers: A comparative analysis

The neurological implications of COVID-19 are becoming increasingly documented, Elevated serum biomarkers Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), and Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) show a strong association with neurological injury in both COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. However, the use of biomarkers in the diagnosis and progression of COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) remains understudied. This investigation aims to assess the levels of GFAP, NSE, and NfL in COVID-19 and MS patients and compare them with healthy controls to establish their potential utility as biomarkers. Levels of Serum NSE, GFAP, and NfL were calculated in 91 COVID-19 patients, 29 MS patients, and 50 healthy controls using ELISA tests. To evaluate the differences between groups, statistical analysis was used, which included the application of the Kruskal-Walli's test. NfL levels were noticeably greater in MS patients, while COVID-19 patients had significantly higher levels of GFAP and NSE than controls. There was a correlation between the severity of COVID-19 and elevated biomarker levels. According to the study's findings, NSE and GFAP are markedly raised in COVID-19 patients, suggesting that they could be used as biomarkers for neurological involvement. Likewise, NfL levels were markedly increased in MS patients, highlighting its function as a biomarker for injury to the neuroaxon. Further research is recommended to corroborate these findings in a larger population and to explore the predictive value of these biomarkers for clinical outcomes. It is also recommended to extend interdisciplinary research to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms driving these biomarker changes.