Non-invasive Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease: a New-Age Perspective.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative literature review without systematic meta-analysis.
PubMed 37596437 · doi:10.1007/s12035-023-03578-3
What was done
The authors conducted a narrative literature review searching PubMed and Google Scholar using terms such as Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, non-invasive biomarkers, early diagnosis, blood-based biomarkers, and preclinical AD to summarize non-invasive methods for detecting preclinical Alzheimer's disease.
What was found
The review describes non-invasive biomarkers identified in blood, saliva, breath, and urine samples, alongside retinal imaging modalities, that correlate with Alzheimer's brain pathology. The abstract reports no quantitative findings, diagnostic accuracy figures (such as sensitivity or specificity), or effect sizes.
Why it matters
Identifying reliable non-invasive biomarkers could enable detection of Alzheimer's disease pathology decades before clinical cognitive symptoms appear, expanding opportunities for early intervention.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative performance metrics, sample sizes, or count of included studies. As a narrative review, it lacks a formal systematic review protocol, standardized quality assessment, or meta-analytic pooling.
Cited by
- supports The development of the three major categories of age-related diseases—most cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disease—takes more than 20 years before clinical manifestation.