title: Biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease: from central nervous system to periphery?
abstract: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia and represents one of the main causes of disability among older subjects. Up to now, the diagnosis of AD has been made according to clinical criteria. However, the use of such criteria does not allow an early diagnosis, as pathological alterations may be apparent many years before the clear-cut clinical picture. An early diagnosis is even more valuable to develop new treatments, potentially interfering with the pathogenetic process. During the last decade, several neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters have been introduced to allow an early and accurate detection of AD patients, and, recently, they have been included among research criteria for AD diagnosis. However, their use in clinical practice suffers from limitations both in accuracy and availability. The increasing amount of knowledge about peripheral biomarkers will possibly allow the future identification of reliable and easily available diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medcine and Surgery, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mossello
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ballini
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tarantini
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simoni
authors.forename: Samuele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baldasseroni
authors.forename: Niccolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marchionni