Peripheral Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases—4th Edition
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 7958
Special Issue Editors
Interests: systems neuroscience; brain oscillations; hippocampus; memory processing; attention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: Alzheimer's disease; oxidative stress; glutamate excitotoxicity in AD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This is a continued issue of our hot topic “Peripheral Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases”.
The knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases has been circumscribed for many years to its clinical aspects and, in some cases, to different therapeutic attempts. Close to twenty years ago, little was known about the causes of these diseases and of their production mechanisms. The progress made in recent years has been very positive, and new avenues of investigation are being opened. Today, we know that neurodegenerative diseases are mainly the consequence of abnormalities in the process of certain proteins, which gives rise to their accumulation in neurons or in their vicinity, diminishing or cancelling their functions. The discovery of these proteins has allowed their use as molecular or imaging markers of these diseases, such as beta-amyloid in the case of Alzheimer's. Therefore, the use of biomarkers in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases has increased in recent years. Biomarkers are events found in the human body that are used to identify a biological state. Clinically, they are very useful to determine the risk, presence, and severity of a disease. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the most common source of molecular biomarkers in neurodegeneration. On the other hand, neuroimaging also provides important information about the affected brain areas. Among these biomarkers, those which are involved with neuroimaging are usually expensive and their affordability is frequently limited. CSF biomarkers are sensitive and specific, but their use is limited because a lumbar puncture is required and thus they can cause side effects.
Given the impact of dementia on the global population, the scientific community has driven itself into the quest of finding new biomarkers whose availability is easier for both patients and clinicians. Therefore, the option was to search for new blood-borne biomarkers. Moreover, due to the lower price and reduced invasiveness, a peripheral biomarker can also provide the chance to serve as a screening test to help the diagnosis of neurodegeneration and to monitor progression and response to a hypothetical treatment.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect recent information about peripheral biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lewy bodies dementia, multiple sclerosis, frontal dementia, Huntington disease, and others. Papers about molecules useful for diagnosis, evolution, prevention, and risk factors are welcome. We invite authors to contribute original research articles as well as review articles exploring peripheral biomarkers in neurodegeneration. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- microRNAs, proteins, and lipids as peripheral biomarkers of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington, etc;
- Oxidized or inflammation-related molecules as markers of any neurodegenerative disease;
- New CSF molecules as biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases;
- Neuroimaging and neuronal activity as biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Ana Cervera
Dr. Ana Lloret
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson disease
- Huntington disease
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Friedreich’s ataxia
- Lewy bodies dementia
- spinal muscular atrophy
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