CSF Biomarkers as evidence for Alzheimer's Dementia

With the world¿s population ageing there is an increase in the prevalence of dementia which is a disease of aging population. It is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. Alzheimer¿s disease is the most frequent cause of dementia accounting for almost half of the cases of dementia. The diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer¿s Dementia(AD) is mainly clinical with no definitive investigations to confirm the diagnosis. There is no curative treatment for this dreaded disease at this juncture. But over the years significant advances in our understanding of pathophysiological process of AD has occurred. With growth in the scientific knowledge efforts are being made to find reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis of Alzheimer¿s Dementia. Various biomarkers have been studied including structural MRI, molecular neuroimaging with PET and cerebrospinal fluid analyses and blood analyses. This book gives a review of various biomarkers studied till now as evidence for Alzheimer¿s disease and later describes a study where CSF biomarkers (Abeta 42 and p-tau 181) were used as evidence for Alzheimer¿s Dementia.