An FDA-Approved Assay Platform Can Detect Biomarkers of Neuronal and Glial Injury in the Blood of COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

Employing assays approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assist in detection of brain injury in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, this study demonstrated that the astroglial protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and the neuronal protein, ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH-L1) were positively associated with age in COVID-19 patients. Controlling for age, UCH-L1 and GFAP were significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients compared to non-COVID-19 controls, and UCH-L1, but not GFAP, was elevated in patients with neurological alterations. Data from this study are also compared to historical data on levels of UCH-L1 and GFAP in brain injured and healthy normal patients. These data support further studies of an FDA approved assay format that could facilitate timely development, validation, and FDA approval of blood tests to detect neuronal and glial cell injuries following infection by SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, appropriately validated blood tests could detect brain injury originating from any systemic pathogen.