Non-invasive Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease: a New-Age Perspective

Mol Neurobiol. 2024 Jan;61(1):212-223. doi: 10.1007/s12035-023-03578-3. Epub 2023 Aug 19.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects the elderly population. It gradually leads to memory loss, loss of thinking ability, and an overall cognitive decline. However, exhaustive literature is available to suggest that pathological changes in the brain occur decades before the first clinical symptoms appear. This review provides insight into the non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of AD that have been successfully studied in populations across the globe. These biomarkers have been detected in the blood, saliva, breath, and urine samples. Retinal imaging techniques are also reported. In this study, PubMed and Google scholar were the databases employed using keywords "Alzheimer's disease," "neurodegeneration," "non-invasive biomarkers," "early diagnosis," "blood-based biomarkers," and "preclinical AD," among others. The evaluation of these biomarkers will provide early diagnosis of AD in the preclinical stages due to their positive correlation with brain pathology in AD. Early diagnosis with reliable and timely intervention can effectively manage this disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyloid-β; Early detection; Lactoferrin; MicroRNA; Non-invasive; Optical coherence tomography.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alzheimer Disease* / pathology
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Biomarkers
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Retina / metabolism

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides