Strategies on Biomarkers to Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease.

MORELLI L

Congreso; ISN ASN 24th Biennial Joint Meeting; 2013

ISN ASN

Strategies on biomarkers to diagnose AD Late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become progressively more prevalent and burdensome to most countries. More precise diagnosis may help to conquer AD. Significant developments have been achieved over the last years in the respective technologies. The proposed workshop will focus on the most important strategies: genetic biomarkers, CSF biomarkers, plasma biomarkers and neuroimaging tools differently reflecting the biochemical processes of neurodegeneration. AD is a multifactorial complex disorder with both genetic and environmental components. Multiple genes with small effects each are likely to contribute to the quantitative traits associated with the disease, such as memory performance, amyloid/tau pathology, or hippocampal atrophy. The definition of a genetic risk pattern for AD may provide potential targets for effective treatment, screening, and prevention. L. Morelli will review and discuss the usefulness of genetic variation as diagnostic tools and biomarkers in AD. CSF investigation is regarded as reliable, early and easy procedure to analyze pathological changes in the brain. K.H. Lee will report on next generation technology for the analysis of protein mixtures based on microfluidic platforms for protein separation. Using this "proteomics" approach a panel of biomarkers useful for AD diagnosis in living individuals was identified. The approach was extended to assess an immunization strategy for the AD treatment demonstrating clinical improvement in a Phase I clinical trial. Plasma Abeta has been suggested as an inexpensive and non-invasive biomarker for AD. Improvement of the diagnostic potential by modification of plasma Abeta level using certain modulators is under discussion. R. Morishita will focus on the possibility that glucose loading could be a novel simple strategy to modulate the plasma Abeta level, making it better suited for early diagnosis and compare it with other attempts based on Anti-Abeta antibody and Abeta binding proteins. Neuroimaging with PET enables unique spatial and temporal localization of biochemical alterations in AD brain thereby providing better specificity and correlation with disease severity than other technologies. P. Brust will speak about current strategies for imaging of â-amyloid in AD brain and discuss alternatives based on selective radioligands for acetylcholine and sigma receptors.