Insights in Diagnostic Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic brain degenerative condition arising from increasing human aging population stemming high costs in the health system. Since post-mortem brain biopsy is regarded as the definitive diagnosis of AD, developing a non-invasive approach is highly valued. Current cutting-edge medical devices, liposomal and nanoparticle-drug delivery systems as well cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and structural magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers have limited diagnostic benefits. Emerging genomics and proteomics biomarkers show encouraging results at distinguishing mild cognitive impairment converters to non-converters progressing to AD dementia. Multibiomarkers offer a better alternative by predicting on a short period those asymptomatic subjects who are more susceptible to progress into the prodromal stage. Other applications are currently investigating which medical conditions foster aging dementia. Since cardiovascular diseases have shown to advance the temporal stage of neurodegeneration and the extent of neuroanatomical damage, combining proteins associated with vascular diseases with current cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers enhances the diagnostic accuracy while others proteins can serve as staging biomarkers.