Neuroimaging biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease

In view of the growing prevalence of AD worldwide, there is an urgent need for the development of better diagnostic tools and more effective therapeutic interventions. Indeed, much work in this field has been done during last decades. As such, a major goal of current clinical research in AD is to improve early detection of disease and presymptomatic detection of neuronal dysfunction, concurrently with the development of better tools to assess disease progression in this group of disorders. All these putative correlates are commonly referred to as AD-related biomarkers. The ideal biomarker should be easy to quantify and measure, reproducible, not subject to wide variation in the general population and unaffected by comorbid factors. For evaluation of therapies, a biomarker needs to change linearly with disease progression and closely correlate with established clinico-pathological parameters of the disease. There is growing evidence that the use of biomarkers will increase our ability to better indentify the underlying biology of AD, especially in its early stages. These biomarkers will improve the detection of the patients suitable for research studies and drug trials, and they will contribute to a better management of the disease in the clinical practice. Indeed, much work in this field has been done during last decades. The vast number of important applications, combined with the untamed diversity of already identified biomarkers, show that there is a pressing need to structure the research made on AD biomarkers into a solid, comprehensive and easy to use tool to de deployed in clinical settings. To date there are few publications compiling results on this topic. That is why when I was asked to address this task I accepted inmediately. I am happy to present you a bundle of the best articles published about biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in recent times.