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REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1496711
This article is part of the Research Topic Post-Stroke Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Unraveling Mechanisms, Models, and Biomarkers View all 7 articles

Blood biomarkers for vascular cognitive impairment based on neuronal function: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Weiquan Huang Weiquan Huang 1Libin Liao Libin Liao 1Qian Liu Qian Liu 2Rongchao Ma Rongchao Ma 1Xuan He Xuan He 3Xiaoqiong Du Xiaoqiong Du 3DUJUAN SHA DUJUAN SHA 1,4*
  • 1 Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
  • 2 Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Xuzhou Medical University, Nanjing, China
  • 3 Department of General Practice, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
  • 4 Other, Nanjing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is increasingly recognized as the second most prevalent cause of dementia, primarily attributed to vascular risk factors and cerebrovascular disease.Numerous studies suggest that blood biomarkers may play a crucial role in the detection and prognosis of VCI. This study conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the potential of various blood biomarkers associated with neuronal function as indicators of VCI. We searched four major databases-PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library-up to December 31, 2023, for research on blood biomarkers for VCI. Of the 4,043 studies identified, 30 met the inclusion criteria for this review. The nine peripheral biomarkers analyzed for their association with neuronal function include amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42), amyloid beta 40 (Aβ40), Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, total Tau (t-Tau), phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau 181), neurofilament light (NfL), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), S100B, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE). Our findings reveal that peripheral Aβ42, Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, NfL, and S100B significantly differ between VCI and non-VCI groups, indicating their potential as blood biomarkers for VCI.

    Keywords: vascular cognitive impairment, biomarkers, Blood, neuronal function, Systematic review

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 28 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Liao, Liu, Ma, He, Du and SHA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: DUJUAN SHA, Other, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.