Department of Neurodegeneration Diagnostics, Medical University of Białystok, 15-089 Białystok, Poland.
Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Białystok, 15-089 Białystok, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jul 25;25(15):8132. doi: 10.3390/ijms25158132.
Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of complex diseases characterized by a progressive loss of neurons and degeneration in different areas of the nervous system. They share similar mechanisms, such as neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial injury, resulting in neuronal loss. One of the biggest challenges in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases is their heterogeneity. Clinical symptoms are usually present in the advanced stages of the disease, thus it is essential to find optimal biomarkers that would allow early diagnosis. Due to the development of ultrasensitive methods analyzing proteins in other fluids, such as blood, huge progress has been made in the field of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. The application of protein biomarker measurement has significantly influenced not only diagnosis but also prognosis, differentiation, and the development of new therapies, as it enables the recognition of early stages of disease in individuals with preclinical stages or with mild symptoms. Additionally, the introduction of biochemical markers into routine clinical practice may improve diagnosis and allow for a stratification group of people with higher risk, as well as an extension of well-being since a treatment could be started early. In this review, we focus on blood biomarkers, which could be potentially useful in the daily medical practice of selected neurodegenerative diseases.
神经退行性疾病是一组复杂的疾病，其特征是神经元进行性丧失和神经系统不同区域的退化。它们具有相似的机制，如神经炎症、氧化应激和线粒体损伤，导致神经元丧失。诊断神经退行性疾病的最大挑战之一是其异质性。临床症状通常出现在疾病的晚期，因此找到最佳的生物标志物进行早期诊断至关重要。由于分析其他体液（如血液）中蛋白质的超灵敏方法的发展，神经退行性疾病的生物标志物领域取得了巨大进展。蛋白质生物标志物测量的应用不仅影响诊断，还影响预后、鉴别和新疗法的开发，因为它能够识别出具有临床前阶段或轻度症状的个体的疾病早期阶段。此外，将生化标志物引入常规临床实践中可能会改善诊断，并能够对具有更高风险的人群进行分层，以及延长幸福感，因为可以早期开始治疗。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍血液生物标志物，这些标志物在选定的神经退行性疾病的日常医疗实践中可能具有潜在的用途。
