Further development of biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an idiopathic neurodegenerative disease usually fatal in less than three years. Even if standard guidelines are available to diagnose ALS, the mean diagnosis delay is more than one year. In this context, biomarker discovery is a priority. Research has to focus on new diagnostic tools, based on combined explorations.



In this review, we specifically focus on biology and imaging markers. We detail the innovative field of 'omics' approach and imaging and explain their limits to be useful in routine practice. We describe the most relevant biomarkers and suggest some perspectives for biomarker research. Expert commentary: The successive failures of clinical trials in ALS underline the need for new strategy based on innovative tools to stratify patients and to evaluate their responses to treatment. Biomarker data may be useful to improve the designs of clinical trials. Biomarkers are also needed to better investigate disease pathophysiology, to identify new therapeutic targets, and to improve the performance of clinical assessments for diagnosis and prognosis in the clinical setting. A consensus on the best management of neuroimaging and 'omics' methods is necessary and a systematic independent validation of findings may add robustness to future studies.
a UMR INSERM U930 , Université François-Rabelais de Tours , Tours , France.|b Laboratoire de Biochimie et de Biologie Moléculaire , Hôpital Bretonneau, CHRU de Tours , Tours , France.
H
H
Blasco
a UMR INSERM U930 , Université François-Rabelais de Tours , Tours , France.|b Laboratoire de Biochimie et de Biologie Moléculaire , Hôpital Bretonneau, CHRU de Tours , Tours , France.
P
P
Vourc'h
c Département des Maladies du Système Nerveux, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris , Hôpital de la Salpêtrière , Paris , France.|d Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, CNRS, INSERM , Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale , Paris , France.
P F
PF
Pradat
e Neurology Unit, Northern Navajo Medical Center , Shiprock , NM , USA.
P H
PH
Gordon
a UMR INSERM U930 , Université François-Rabelais de Tours , Tours , France.|b Laboratoire de Biochimie et de Biologie Moléculaire , Hôpital Bretonneau, CHRU de Tours , Tours , France.
C R
CR
Andres
a UMR INSERM U930 , Université François-Rabelais de Tours , Tours , France.|b Laboratoire de Biochimie et de Biologie Moléculaire , Hôpital Bretonneau, CHRU de Tours , Tours , France.|f Centre SLA , Service de Neurologie et Neurophysiologie Clinique, CHRU de Tours , Tours , France.
P
P
Corcia
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D035843:Biomedical Research; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods
D015415:Biomarkers
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; MRI; PET metabolomics; RMN; biomarkers; genetics; neuroimaging; proteomics