Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2011 Aug;9(2):54-66.

Panel of Genetic Variations as a Potential Non-invasive Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

• Ma SL
• Lam LC

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia. Biomarkers such as levels of amyloid beta (Abeta) in cerebrospinal fluid and ApoE genotyping were suggested for the diagnosis of AD, however, the result is either non-conclusive or with invasive procedure. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for AD suggested single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in many genes are associated with the risk of AD, but each only contributed with small effect to the disease. By incorporating a panel of established genetic susceptibility factors, the risk of an individual in getting AD could be better estimated. Further research will be required to reveal if adding to the current well-developed clinical diagnosis protocol, the accuracy and specificity of diagnosis of AD would be greatly improved and if this might also be beneficial in identifying pre-symptomatic AD patients for early diagnosis and intervention of the disease.

Keyword

Alzheimer disease; Genetics; Biomarkers; Diagnosis

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease
Amyloid
Apolipoproteins E
Biomarkers
Dementia
Early Diagnosis
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Genetic Variation
Genome-Wide Association Study
Humans
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Sensitivity and Specificity
Amyloid
Apolipoproteins E