Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders

• Traditionally, patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been diagnosed according to clinical criteria, and a diagnosis has only been made in the dementia stage of the disease. Defi nite diagnosis required autopsy to confi rm the neuropathological fi ndings associated with AD, namely, extracellular depositions of amyloid a (Aa) protein and intraneuronal neurofi brillary tangles consisting of hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) protein, together with gross cortical atrophy caused by neuronal degeneration and loss. These fi ndings are refl ected in the cerebrospinal fl uid (CSF) of patients with AD. Numerous studies have shown that AD patients have lower levels of Aa42 and higher levels of P-tau and total tau (T-tau) in CSF than cognitively healthy controls. In the new diagnostic criteria for AD, these CSF biomarkers are included as in vivo evidence of AD neuropathology together with positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of global cortical amyloid load. Further, AD is now divided into several disease stages, namely, preclinical AD and mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to AD. In this chapter, we review CSF biomarker characteristics for the various disease stages for AD and how to use them in the differentiation against other common neurodegenerative disorders. New candidate CSF biomarkers for AD are also presented, as well as a discussion on the standardization of biomarkers and their application in clinical trials. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

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