The Association of Umbilical Cord Blood Neurofilament Light With Nonreassuring Fetal Status: A Prospective Observational Study
( Int J Gynaecol Obstet . 2026 Mar;172(3):1491–1500. doi:10.1002/ijgo.70421) A prospective observational study explored whether neurofilament light (NfL), a marker of neuronal injury, can be reliably measured in umbilical cord blood and whether it is associated with nonreassuring fetal status and neonatal outcomes. Early identification of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is essential, as therapeutic hypothermia must begin within six hours of birth to be effective. However, current diagnostic tools, such as clinical assessments and cord blood acid-base measurements, lack specificity for detecting neuronal injury. As a result, there is a need for more sensitive biomarkers that can better reflect fetal hypoxia and neurological compromise.
Authors
- Thomas Payne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5530-3717)
- Kaj Blennow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1890-4193)
- Benjamin Moran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6515-6722)
- Bradley de Vries (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5620-0170)
- Fernando González‐Ortiz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7897-9456)
- Robert D. Sanders (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0113-0328)
- Emma Payne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1877-6961)
- Helen J. Manning
- Jessica Barry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4670-5650)
- Henrik Zetterberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3930-4354)
- Andrew David Duckworth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5317-1300)
- Neha Mahajan
- David Zalcberg
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (AU)
- Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SE)
- Gosford Hospital (AU)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires (FR)
- The George Institute for Global Health (AU)
- Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR)
- St George Hospital (AU)
- UK Dementia Research Institute (GB)
- Sydney Local Health District (AU)
- Central Coast Local Health District (AU)
- South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (AU)
- National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (GB)
- Institut du Cerveau (FR)
- National Health and Medical Research Council (AU)
- University College London (GB)
- University of Newcastle Australia (AU)
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Obstetric Anesthesia Digest
- Published
- 2026-08-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1097/01.aoa.0001237784.24015.66
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00