Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2011 Oct;11(5):455-63. doi: 10.1007/s11910-011-0212-0.
Biomarkers are one type of laboratory testing being developed in response to the therapeutic imperative for diseases that cause cognitive impairment and dementia. The role of biomarkers is already transforming the organization and conduct of clinical trials, and if successful will likely contribute in the future to the medical management of patients with these diseases. Despite the obvious utility of practicality of blood- or urine-based biomarkers, so far results from these fluid compartments have not been reproducible. In contrast, substantial progress has been made in cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. Here we review the stages of cerebrospinal fluid biomarker development for several common and unusual diseases that cause cognitive impairment and dementia, stressing the distinction between diagnostic and mechanistic biomarkers. Future applications will likely focus on diagnosis of latent or early-stage disease, assessment of disease progression, mechanism of injury, and response to experimental therapeutics.
生物标志物是为了应对导致认知障碍和痴呆的疾病的治疗需求而开发的一种实验室检测方法。生物标志物的作用已经在改变临床试验的组织和实施方式，如果成功，将来可能会对这些疾病患者的医疗管理做出贡献。尽管基于血液或尿液的生物标志物具有明显的实用性，但迄今为止，这些体液样本的结果还不可重复。相比之下，在脑脊液生物标志物方面已经取得了很大进展。在这里，我们回顾了几种常见和不常见的导致认知障碍和痴呆的疾病的脑脊液生物标志物的开发阶段，强调了诊断性和机制性生物标志物之间的区别。未来的应用可能会集中在潜在或早期疾病的诊断、疾病进展的评估、损伤机制以及对实验治疗的反应上。
