title: From Companion Diagnostics to Theranostics: A New Avenue for Alzheimer's Disease?
abstract: The recent literature signals a growing paradigm shift toward integrating therapeutics and diagnostics rather than developing and deploying them separately. In this gradual move toward more effective and personalized medications, companion diagnostics are an intermediate stage. The next step may be "theranostics", in which single chemical entities are developed to deliver therapy and diagnosis simultaneously. This strategy has been successfully exploited in oncology and is now emerging as a possibility for Alzheimer's disease, where its feasibility has caught the attention of researchers from industry and academia. Medicinal chemists do not yet completely understand the nuances of theranostic action and consequently have not yet developed universally validated strategies for developing theranostic clinical applications against Alzheimer's disease. However, given the emerging indications of the potentially enormous benefits that theranostics may bring to the fight against this devastating disease, further rigorous research is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna , Via Belmeloro 6, I-40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna , Via Belmeloro 6, I-40126 Bologna, Italy.|Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) , Via Bonomea 265, I-34136 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Annachiara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gandini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna , Via Belmeloro 6, I-40126 Bologna, Italy.|College of Life Sciences, Sir James Black Centre, University of Dundee , Dundee DD1 5EH, U.K.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Prati
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna , Via Belmeloro 6, I-40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uliassi
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D057285:Precision Medicine; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D015415:Biomarkers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D016875:tau Proteins