Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun;27(6):954-963.
doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01382-x. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases

Oskar Hansson  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases

Oskar Hansson. Nat Med. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases are needed to improve the diagnostic workup in the clinic but also to facilitate the development and monitoring of effective disease-modifying therapies. Positron emission tomography methods detecting amyloid-β and tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease have been increasingly used to improve the design of clinical trials and observational studies. In recent years, easily accessible and cost-effective blood-based biomarkers detecting the same Alzheimer's disease pathologies have been developed, which might revolutionize the diagnostic workup of Alzheimer's disease globally. Relevant biomarkers for α-synuclein pathology in Parkinson's disease are also emerging, as well as blood-based markers of general neurodegeneration and glial activation. This review presents an overview of the latest advances in the field of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Future directions are discussed regarding implementation of novel biomarkers in clinical practice and trials.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. GBD 2016 Dementia Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol. 18, 88–106 (2019).
    1. Prince, M. et al. World Alzheimer Report 2015. The Global Impact of Dementia: An Analysis of Prevalence, Incidence, Cost and Trends. https://www.alzint.org/u/WorldAlzheimerReport2015.pdf (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2015).
    1. Seshadri, S. & Wolf, P. A. Lifetime risk of stroke and dementia: current concepts, and estimates from the Framingham Study. Lancet Neurol. 6, 1106–1114 (2007). - PubMed
    1. Buchhave, P. et al. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of β-amyloid 1-42, but not of tau, are fully changed already 5 to 10 years before the onset of Alzheimer dementia. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 69, 98–106 (2012). - PubMed
    1. Gordon, B. A. et al. Spatial patterns of neuroimaging biomarker change in individuals from families with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal study. Lancet Neurol. 17, 241–250 (2018). - PubMed - PMC

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources