Plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's and related dementias: A review and outlook for clinical neuropsychology.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review with expert perspective and no primary data or systematic meta-analysis.
PubMed 38520383 · doi:10.1093/arclin/acae019
What was done
This narrative review summarizes recent advancements in blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). It evaluates key plasma analytes—including amyloid-beta, phosphorylated tau isoforms (pTau181, pTau217, pTau231), neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40)—and discusses factors influencing clinical interpretation (demographics, comorbidities, genetics) as well as the role of clinical neuropsychologists in applying these tests.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical figures, effect sizes, or diagnostic metrics. Qualitatively, it highlights that plasma NfL functions as a non-specific marker of neuronal damage, whereas plasma pTau isoforms (pTau181, pTau217, pTau231) and GFAP demonstrate desirable sensitivity and specificity for detecting Alzheimer's pathology and clinical dementia.
Why it matters
Blood-based biomarkers provide a scalable, cost-effective, and minimally invasive method for ADRD screening, diagnosis, and progression tracking. Understanding their diagnostic boundaries and non-disease confounders is essential for clinical neuropsychologists interpreting results in real-world practice.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis, providing no quantitative pooled metrics (such as sensitivity, specificity, or AUC values). Specific cohort sizes, inclusion criteria, and comparative test performances are not detailed.
Cited by
- supports Neurofilament light is a general marker of neuronal death present in anyone with neurodegenerative disease rather than being specific to a particular disease.