Biomarkers in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Alzheimer's Disease

J Lab Autom. 2015 Oct;20(5):589-600. doi: 10.1177/2211068214559979. Epub 2014 Nov 25.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that inhibits cognitive functions and has no cure. This report reviews the current diagnostic standards for AD with an emphasis on early diagnosis using the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers amyloid-beta, t-tau, and p-tau and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging. Abnormal levels of these CSF biomarkers and decreased cerebral uptake of glucose have recently been used in the early diagnosis of AD in experimental studies. These promising biomarkers can be measured using immunoassays performed in singleplex or multiplex formats. Although presently, there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) for early detection of AD, a multiplex immunoassay measuring a panel of promising AD biomarkers in CSF may be a likely IVD candidate for the clinical AD diagnostic market. Specifically, the INNO-BIA AlzBio3 immunoassay kit, performed using bead arrays on the xMAP Luminex analyzer, allows simultaneous quantification of amyloid-beta, t-tau, and p-tau biomarkers. AD biomarkers can also be screened using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays that are offered as laboratory-developed tests.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; CSF; ELISA; FDG; PET; amyloid-beta; biomarkers; diagnosis; early; glucose; immunoassay; multiplex bead array; tau.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Automation, Laboratory
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Biomarkers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Biomarkers / urine
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Neuroimaging
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Peptide Fragments / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Peptide Fragments / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / trends
  • Prognosis
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • tau Proteins / cerebrospinal fluid*

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Biomarkers
  • MAPT protein, human
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • amyloid beta-protein (1-42)
  • tau Proteins
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Glucose