Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of neurodegeneration in chronic neurological diseases

Abstract

Chronic neurological diseases (CND) like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dementia or multiple sclerosis (MS) share a chronic progressive course of disease that frequently leads to the common pathological pathway of neurodegeneration, including neuroaxonal damage, apoptosis and gliosis. There is an ongoing search for biomarkers that could support early diagnosis of CND and help to identify responders to interventions in therapeutic treatment trials. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a promising source of biomarkers in CND, since the CSF compartment is in close anatomical contact with the brain interstitial fluid, where biochemical changes related to CND are reflected. We review recent advances in CSF biomarkers research in CND and thereby focus on markers associated with neurodegeneration.