ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a rapidly growing disease that is estimated to affect about 36 million people worldwide, therefore there is an immediate need for its' early diagnosis and treatment. A number of research studies are performed on possible accurate and reliable diagnostic biomarkers of AD. This review study provides an update on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins that are being currently used in clinical practice and studied as biomarkers for early AD diagnosis and their future prospects, as well as relevant patents.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/cerebrospinal fluid , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Amyloid beta-Peptides/cerebrospinal fluid , Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid , Peptide Fragments/cerebrospinal fluid , tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid , Biomarkers/cerebrospinal fluid , Cognitive Dysfunction/cerebrospinal fluid , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , HumansABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the nosological entity of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) constitute a major public health concern. The diagnostic approach and therapeutic management of these disorders may be significantly improved by recent advances in the field of event-related potentials (ERPs). AREAS COVERED: The authors performed a PubMed search in order to identify full-length, original research articles on the experimental and clinical application of ERPs in AD and MCI. The major part of the retrieved articles concerns the application of auditory and, to a lesser extent, visual ERPs for the early diagnosis of AD and MCI. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of ERPs in identifying the subgroup of MCI patients who will subsequently convert to AD. Other areas covered include the contribution of ERPs in the differential diagnosis of dementia types, the utility of ERPs for monitoring pharmacological treatment in AD and the correlation between ERPs and the results of neuropsychological testing. EXPERT OPINION: The reviewed evidence suggests that ERPs hold promise as an electrophysiological tool for the early and accurate diagnosis of AD and MCI. However, certain methodological issues need to be resolved before ERPs enter the arena of clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is rapidly grooving incidence that affects millions of people worldwide, therefore there is an immediate need for its' early and accurate diagnosis. Many research studies have been performed on possible accurate and reliable diagnostic biomarkers of AD. This review study provides an overview on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins that are used as biochemical markers for the early diagnosis of AD and their future prospects, as well as relevant patents.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/cerebrospinal fluid , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Biomarkers/cerebrospinal fluid , Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid , Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases/cerebrospinal fluid , Amyloid beta-Peptides/cerebrospinal fluid , Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/cerebrospinal fluid , Cognition Disorders/cerebrospinal fluid , Cytochromes c/cerebrospinal fluid , Humans , Inflammation Mediators/cerebrospinal fluid , Isoprostanes/cerebrospinal fluid , Metals/cerebrospinal fluid , Molecular Structure , Patents as Topic , Peptide Fragments/cerebrospinal fluid , tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluidABSTRACT
We present a case of a 74-year-old Greek male who suffered from paraphasias, memory and orientation problems. The patient was assessed with neuropsychometric tests, auditory event-related potentials and cerebrospinal fluid proteins and was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. The emphasis on the case is on the unexplained high levels of P300 and Slow wave of the auditory event-related potentials. P300 is believed to be delayed in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), however in our case it was extremely prolonged in baseline and follow-up examinations without AD being diagnosed. This might suggest that AD is a complex and multifactorial disease.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of cerebrospinal fluid beta-amyloid(1-42) levels and auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) in the progress of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: In 53 MCI patients, lumbar puncture was performed and beta-amyloid(1-42) levels were determined. Twenty patients were reexamined after 11 months. During this period, 5 of them progressed to AD. Neuropsychological and ERP analyses were performed on all patients during both baseline and endpoint examinations. RESULTS: Compared to stable MCI patients, those that progressed to AD had significantly lower beta-amyloid(1-42) levels (Mann-Whitney test, Z = -2.952, p = 0.003; effect size r = -0.41) and significantly prolonged N200 latencies (Mann-Whitney test, Z = -3.561, p < 0.001, effect size r = -0.49). From ERP variables, only the N200 latency significantly correlated with beta-amyloid(1-42) levels (baseline examination: r(s) = -0.421, p = 0.002; follow-up examination: r(s) = -0.574, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The combined use of these two parameters enabled discrimination of stable MCI patients from those who developed AD, with 100% sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, this method could be of high diagnostic value for the early diagnosis of AD.
