Biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Excerpt

The expected benefits of biomarkers in managing dementia have so far not been realised. In particular the pre-symptomatic prodrome of dementia, which may develop over many years, remains difficult to track. To date only a limited number of biomarkers have been investigated for their role in diagnosis and prognosis in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with only cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42, total tau and phosphorylated tau now established in routine clinical practice. The ability to diagnose AD at an early stage or reliably predict future clinical onset remains a key target for researchers and would offer the opportunity for modifying the disease course for patients at the very earliest stages of disease, by implementing lifestyle changes and/or prophylactic treatments. In this article we review three recent studies assessing novel and established biochemical and radiological biomarkers which show promise for use in future clinical practice. …