Affiliations: Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Mölndal, Sweden | Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Kaj Blennow, MD, PhD, Clinical Neurochemistry Lab, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SE-431 80 Mölndal, Sweden. Tel.: +46 31 3431791; Fax: +46 31 3432426; E-mail: kaj.blennow@neuro.gu.se.
Abstract: Research progress has given detailed knowledge on the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which has been translated into an ongoing development of disease-modifying treatments. These new drug candidates are targeted on inhibiting amyloid-β (Aβ) production and aggregation or tau aggregation. If these drugs prove to be efficient, diagnostic tools enabling early diagnosis of AD will be of great value. Also in drug development, it is important to co-develop biomarkers to serve as tools to identify and monitor the biochemical effect of the drug directly in patients. Molecular aberrations in the AD brain are reflected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The core candidate CSF biomarkers Aβ42, total tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated tau (P-tau) have been shown to have a high diagnostic performance to identify AD also in the early phase of the disease. This paper reviews recent research advances on these CSF biomarkers for use in clinical diagnosis and in clinical trials in AD.
