Pro: Can biomarkers be gold standards in Alzheimer's disease?
Recent advances in biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) now allow the visualization of one of the hallmark pathologies of AD in vivo, and combination biomarker profiles can now approximate the diagnostic accuracy of autopsy in patients with dementia. Biomarkers are already employed in clinical trials in prodromal AD for both subject selection and in monitoring therapeutic response. Ultimately the greatest utility of biomarkers may be in the preclinical stages of AD, to identify and track progression of the disease prior to significant cognitive impairment, at the point when disease modifying therapies are likely to be most efficacious.
Sperling
Reisa
R
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02115, USA. rsperling@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
Johnson
Keith
K