Article

A paradigm shift has occurred in the last ten years in the diagnostic field of
Alzheimer's disease (AD). Scientific thought has enriched the concept of AD as a
pathophysiological continuum and emphasized contribution of biological,
morphological and functional brain imaging biomarkers for diagnosis, in
particular during the early stages of the disease. We address here the present
and the future of these biological biomarkers. Most of them are linked to the
pathophysiological lesions of the Alzheimer process: aggregates of
hyperphosphorylated tau proteins, also called neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), and
extracellular deposit of amyloid-beta peptides (Abeta), also called senile
plaques. The detection in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of tau and Abeta
represents the current diagnostic practice of AD. Improvement for a more accurate
and earlier biological diagnosis is however expected using a new generation of
biomarkers, mostly in relation with tau and Abeta metabolism.
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Langue : ANGLAIS