Niels Andreasen and Henrik Zetterberg Pages 766 - 771 ( 6 )
Alzheimers disease (AD) is an age-related disorder that causes brain damage resulting in progressive cognitive impairment and death. Three decades of progress have given us a detailed understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Over the past 10 years, this knowledge has translated into a range of targets for therapy, the most promising of which is amyloid β (Aβ). An imbalance between the production and clearance of Aβ is thought by many to represent the earliest event in the pathogenesis of AD. Aβ is known to be subject to oligomerisation, a process that increases its synaptotoxicity. The oligomers may aggregate further to proto-fibrils and fibrils, eventually forming senile plaques, the neuropathological hallmark of AD. In this article we review the key aspects of Aβ as a biomarker for AD, including its pathogenicity, the diagnostic performance of different Aβ assays in different settings, and the potential usefulness of Aβ as a surrogate marker for treatment efficacy in clinical trials of novel Aβ-targeting drugs.
Alzheimer's disease,amyloid precursor protein,β-amyloid,biomarker,cerebrospinal fluid,plasma,positron emission tomography
, Memory clinic, M51, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, SE-141 86, Sweden.