Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Rümeysa Halise Gülyeşil1, Oytun Erbaş1
1ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Türkiye
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, neurodegenerative disorders, neuroinflammation, Parkinson's disease.
Abstract
The understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, traditionally seen as well-defined entities with different clinical phenotypes, has significantly transformed over the past 20 years. Diagnosing neurodegenerative disorders mostly requires functional neuroimaging techniques or invasive tests such as lumbar puncture to assess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A novel biological approach, particularly through in vivo studies, has shifted focus toward CSF and serum biomarkers as indicators of underlying proteinopathies. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of neurodegenerative processes in the central nervous system (CNS), along with overlapping clinical diagnoses, pose significant challenges. Neuroinflammation, a protective response of the CNS, is associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. The CNS consists of neurons and glial cells, which include microglia, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Various studies have shown the role of neuroinflammatory markers in the formation, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. These markers also trigger the formation of various other factors responsible for causing multiple neuronal diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this review, we explained the evolving understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, highlighting the importance of CSF and serum biomarkers in diagnosing proteinopathies, as well as the critical role of neuroinflammatory markers in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and potential therapeutic approaches for various neurodegenerative conditions such as AD, PD, HD, and ALS.
Cite this article as: Gülyeşil RH, Erbaş O. Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Disorders. JEB Med Sci 2024;5(3):222-226.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.