Fig. 2
From: Solving neurodegeneration: common mechanisms and strategies for new treatments
Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Numerous biomarkers for neurodegeneration are being developed. Amyloid pathology in AD can be readily detected in plasma by measuring the Aβ42/ Aβ40 ratio. Alternatively, larger Aβ plaques and fibrils can be detected visually by Aβ-PET. Similarly, tau pathology can be detected as p-tau in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and tau plaques can be identified as fibrils on PET. Lewy bodies, composed of misfolded α-synuclein (α-syn), can be detected in CSF of PD patients or by using α-syn seeding assays such as α-syn RT-QuIC. Neurofilament light protein (NfL), a marker of degenerating myelinated axons is detectable in CSF and plasma. Several novel emerging biomarkers include neurogranin, a marker of post-synaptic degeneration and synaptic vesicle 2 A (SV2A), a pre-synaptic marker of degeneration. In addition, the presence of reactive gial cell markers (e.g., glial acidic fibrillary protein; GFAP, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; (MCP-1) and Triggering Receptor Expressed On Myeloid Cells 2; TREM2) in CSF and plasma are being explored as novel biomarkers in neurodegeneration