Biomarkers of neurological disease

Biomarkers play an important role in the study of neurological disease. In neurodegenerative disease, the pathophysiologic process leading to neuron death begins before clinical symptoms develop. Therefore, one of the most important roles of biomarkers is an accurate diagnosis of diseases in their early and presymptomatic stages. Another important role of biomarkers is to serve as potential surrogate markers of disease severity. Biomarkers can also be used to improve safety assessment and determine appropriate dosage of the drug. Various biomarkers have been developed for clinical assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Tau and amyloid-β protein in cerebrospinal fluid are useful biomarkers for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Recent development of molecular imaging probes enables noninvasive detection of amyloid plaques using positron emission tomography (PET). PET amyloid imaging may be useful for early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, patient selection for disease-modifying therapeutic trials, and monitoring of the effect of anti-amyloid therapy. A multisite, prospective clinical study was launched to develop standardized neuroimaging and biomarker methods for clinical trial on Alzheimer's disease.