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Advanced Overview of Biomarkers and Techniques for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

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Abstract

The development of early non-invasive diagnosis methods and identification of novel biomarkers are necessary for managing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and facilitating effective prognosis and treatment. AD has multi-factorial nature and involves complex molecular mechanism, which causes neuronal degeneration. The primary challenges in early AD detection include patient heterogeneity and lack of precise diagnosis at the preclinical stage. Several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood biomarkers have been proposed to show excellent diagnosis ability by identifying tau pathology and cerebral amyloid beta (Aβ) for AD. Intense research endeavors are being made to develop ultrasensitive detection techniques and find potent biomarkers for early AD diagnosis. To mitigate AD worldwide, understanding various CSF biomarkers, blood biomarkers, and techniques that can be used for early diagnosis is imperative. This review attempts to provide information regarding AD pathophysiology, genetic and non-genetic factors associated with AD, several potential blood and CSF biomarkers, like neurofilament light, neurogranin, Aβ, and tau, along with biomarkers under development for AD detection. Besides, numerous techniques, such as neuroimaging, spectroscopic techniques, biosensors, and neuroproteomics, which are being explored to aid early AD detection, have been discussed. The insights thus gained would help in finding potential biomarkers and suitable techniques for the accurate diagnosis of early AD before cognitive dysfunction.

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Abbreviations

NFTs:

Neurofibrillary tangles

AD:

Alzheimer disease

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

BACE1:

β-Site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1

P-tau:

Phosphorylated tau

T-tau:

Total tau

α-Syn:

α-Synuclein

LRP:

Lewy-related pathology

PiD:

Pick’s disease

PSP:

Progressive supranuclear palsy

CBD:

Cortico-basal ganglionic degeneration

GFAP:

Glial fibrillary acidic protein

sAPP:

Soluble amyloid precursor proteins

SNAP-25:

Synaptosome-associated protein 25

TDP-43:

Transactive response DNA-binding protein 43

hFABP:

Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein

TREM2:

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2, IP-10, and VILIP-1 is visinin-like protein 1

MRI:

Structural magnetic resonance imaging

Aβ:

Amyloid beta

miRNA:

MicroRNA

Mab:

Monoclonal antibody

PHF:

Paired helical filament

APP:

Amyloid precursor protein

NfL:

Neurofilament Light Chain

Ng:

Neurogranin

ALS:

Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

FTLD:

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration

VCAM1:

Vascular cell adhesion protein 1 precursor

CT:

Computed Tomography

MCI:

Mild Cognitive Impairment

SVM:

Support Vector Machine

IBASPM:

Individual Brain Atlas and Statistical Parametric Mapping

MTL:

Medial Temporal Lobe

PET:

Positron Emission Tomography

SPECT:

Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography

FDG:

Fluorodeoxyglucose

ECD:

Ethyl cysteinate diethylester

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

ESI:

Electrospray ionization

DIGE:

Difference gel electrophoresis

MRM:

Multiple reaction monitoring

SRM:

Selective reaction monitoring

TMT:

Tandem mass tags

MEG:

Magnetoencephalography

VBM:

Voxel-based morphometry

VBCT:

Voxel-based cortical thickness

ROI:

Region of interest

Ach:

Acetylcholine

ChEIs:

Cholinesterase inhibitors

NMDA:

N-methyl-D-aspartate

DOPA:

Dihydroxyphenylalanine

BOLD:

Blood oxygenated level dependent

DLB:

Dementia with Lewy bodies

rs-fMRI:

Resting-state fMRI

FTD:

Frontotemporal dementia

DVR:

Distribution volume ratio

SUVR:

Standardized uptake value ratio

AI:

Artificial intelligence

ADP:

Alzheimer’s disease pathology

R&D:

Research and development

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Ravi Pratap Barnwal lab and Gurpal Singh lab members for critical suggestions. Our lab is supported by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India grants which are duly acknowledged.

Funding

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India grants.

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The first draft of the manuscript was written by SR and SBD; AK, DG, PKJ, and NS suggested editing for this manuscript, whereas final changes were made by MK, GS, and RPB. All authors read and approved it for publication.

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Correspondence to Mandeep Kaur, Gurpal Singh or Ravi Pratap Barnwal.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Dikshi Gupta is/was employed by JoyScore Inc., 2440 Cerritos Ave, Signal Hill, CA 90755, USA. We hereby declare that JoyScore Inc. has no role in designing, drafting, and conception of the work. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Rani, S., Dhar, S.B., Khajuria, A. et al. Advanced Overview of Biomarkers and Techniques for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cell Mol Neurobiol 43, 2491–2523 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-023-01330-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-023-01330-y

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