title: Genetic risk factors and candidate biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial and progressive neurodegenerative disease, extremely diffused and with an increasing prevalence worldwide. There is an urgent need for biomarkers to diagnose AD early in its course. Furthermore, accurate biomarkers would be able to determine the clinical efficacy of novel neuroprotective strategies. Although the heritability of late-onset AD is high, our knowledge of the underlying putative susceptibility genes remains incomplete and the only unequivocally established late-onset AD gene is APOE. Nevertheless a number of susceptibility loci seems to influence the pathogenesis of AD, and variations in numerous genes have been considered to be important in the risk for AD. Many advances have been made in identifying biochemical indices of brain dysfunction, measured in body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid and plasma, with different methodological approaches. Although these biomarkers are promising, none of them can predict AD with 100% confidence to date. This review will elaborate on the available selection of genetic and biochemical biomarkers for AD, with a particular reference to those linked to inflammation and oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy. giovanni.scapagnini@unimol.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scapagnini
authors.forename: Calogero
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vasto
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pascale
authors.forename: Loriana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: Velia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: D'Agata
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Intrieri
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sapere
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li Volti
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D015415:Biomarkers; D016875:tau Proteins