Biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease

The biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease are neurochemical indicators used to assess the risk or presence of the disease. The biomarkers can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a very early stage, but they also provide objective and reliable measures of disease progress. It is imperative to diagnose AD disease as soon as possible, because neuropathologic changes of AD precede the symptoms by years.[1] It is well known that amyloid beta (Aβ) is a good indicator of AD disease, which has facilitated doctors to accurately pre-diagnose cases of AD. When Aβ peptide is released by proteolytic cleavage of amyloid-beta precursor protein,[2] some Aβ peptides that are solubilized are detected in CSF and blood plasma which makes AB peptides a promising candidate for biological markers. It has been shown that the amyloid beta biomarker shows 80% or above sensitivity and specificity, in distinguishing AD from dementia. It is believed that amyloid beta as a biomarker will provide a future for diagnosis of AD and eventually treatment of AD.[3]

  1. ^ Lloret A, Esteve D, Lloret MA, Cervera-Ferri A, Lopez B, Nepomuceno M, Monllor P (November 2019). "When Does Alzheimer's Disease Really Start? The Role of Biomarkers". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 20 (22): 5536. doi:10.3390/ijms20225536. PMC 6888399. PMID 31698826.
  2. ^ Palop JJ, Mucke L (July 2010). "Amyloid-beta-induced neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease: from synapses toward neural networks". Nature Neuroscience. 13 (7): 812–818. doi:10.1038/nn.2583. PMC 3072750. PMID 20581818.
  3. ^ Bateman RJ, Munsell LY, Morris JC, Swarm R, Yarasheski KE, Holtzman DM (July 2006). "Human amyloid-beta synthesis and clearance rates as measured in cerebrospinal fluid in vivo". Nature Medicine. 12 (7): 856–861. doi:10.1038/nm1438. PMC 2983090. PMID 16799555.