Using plasma biomarkers over cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers in Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis would be simpler for clinicians and less burdensome for patients, but their accuracy and robustness in a real-world setting has been questioned. Andrea Pilotto, MD, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy, describes the evidence we have and the confirmatory studies that are still required. It is important to test the validity of these markers by assessing the impact of biological and analytical variation on their performance and how this can inform clinicopathologic data interpretation. It should be noted that some conditions can increase levels of hallmarks for cognitive impairment, such as kidney dysfunction and diabetes, so accurate cut-offs in different conditions must be defined. Studies utilizing larger samples sizes of patients with an unclear diagnosis will be important to test whether these markers can improve the diagnostic process or even substitute CSF markers in very clear cases. This interview took place at the AD/PD™ 2023 congress in Gothenburg, Sweden.
These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.
