Title:Inflammatory Biomarkers in AD: Implications for Diagnosis
VOLUME: 17 ISSUE: 11
Author(s):Junhyung Kim and Yong-Ku Kim*
Affiliation:Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul, Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan
Keywords:Alzheimer's disease, neuroinflammation, biomarkers, neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, mild cognitive
impairment, microglia.
Abstract:Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Due to the lack of effective
interventions, early and accurate diagnosis for new interventions are emphasized. However, significant
neuronal loss and neuropathological lesions can damage the brain substantially before diagnosis. With
our growing knowledge of the role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease,
inflammatory biomarkers are attracting increasing interest in the context of diagnosis. This review is
focused on the use of inflammatory biomarkers detected through neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid, and
peripheral blood for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, and also suggests clinical implications. This
review includes the following biomarkers: neuroimaging, various ligands binding to the translocator
protein (TSPO); cerebrospinal fluid, soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (sTREM2),
human cartilage glycoprotein-39 (YKL-40), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), and
various biomarkers in peripheral blood. Although accumulating evidence has suggested the potential
role of these inflammatory biomarkers in diagnosing AD, there are limitations to their use. However,
combining these biomarkers with conventional diagnostic clues such as genotype and amyloid pathology
may improve the stratification and selection of patients for targeted early interventions.
