Blood Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative Diseases

  • 29k

    Total Downloads

  • 103k

    Total Views and Downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Timely and accurate diagnoses are necessary for the clinical management of neurodegenerative diseases. These diseases often involve biological changes in the central nervous system that result in specific markers being released or secreted into biofluids. Such markers can be very useful for disease prognoses and diagnoses as well as for monitoring disease progression and the effects of therapeutic treatments.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of specific neuronal proteins and peptides are well-established biological markers of neurodegenerative dementias, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD). In fact, biochemical measurements of phosphorylated tau, total tau and amyloid beta are incorporated into major diagnostic and research guidelines as biological evidence for AD. In other neurodegenerative disorders, these biomarkers largely remain at normal levels. In Parkinson's disease, CSF alpha-synuclein is increased with disease severity and provides insights into disease progression. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) is a highly sensitive marker for prion disease. Moreover, synaptic proteins including neurogranin, GAP-43, SNAP-25, and several others provide insights into synaptic degeneration and loss, yet are still seemingly specific to AD-type pathology. The axonal protein, neurofilament light chain (NfL), has been widely validated as a biomarker of neurodegeneration in many disease contexts. The neurodegeneration markers NfL and total tau are elevated in traumatic brain injury, stroke and in anesthetized patients during surgery. Several other prospective biomarkers of neurological disorders have been reported in CSF.

Blood, the most widely used biofluid in clinical chemistry investigations, is more accessible compared with CSF. The use of ordinary blood samples bypasses the need for lumbar puncture, which is required for CSF analyses. Since blood sampling requires minimal training, it can be performed outside of a medical facility either by field healthcare officers or by trained patient carers. Blood testing for neurodegenerative diseases therefore presents with exciting possibilities.

Two decades of explorative plasma proteomics yielded a multitude of candidates but failed to demonstrate clinical utility. This is likely because the predominant source of these candidate analytes were from peripheral tissues. More recently, mass spectrometric and immunoassay (e.g, Single molecule array [Simoa], immunomagnetic reduction, and Meso Scale Discovery) technologies with improved sensitivity have been developed. These tools have allowed reliable quantification of brain-derived proteins and peptides in blood, including biomarkers already validated in CSF. These advances have key advantages for the future of neurological care. It is conceivable that in the near future blood biomarkers will have the needed diagnostic and analytical accuracies to replace specific CSF and imaging biomarkers. However, several questions need to be answered to pave the way for this anticipated progress. For example, the molecular and biochemical processes underlying brain-to-blood release of neurodegenerative biomarkers are not well understood, neither is the potential contribution of biomarkers from peripheral tissues. Moreover, different molecular forms of the same neurodegenerative proteins may function as biomarkers potentially at different disease stages. Additionally, the sequence of events involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases are still being explored.

The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a platform for the publication of new research on blood biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases. This Research Topic is widely open to contributions that target the following topics:

• Original articles that report on the development, analytical validation and clinical performance of new blood biomarkers covering all aspects of neurodegenerative conditions
• Original articles that describe mechanistic basis and factors that affect brain-to-blood release of biomarkers
• Impact of biomarker measures from peripheral sources
• Distinct molecular forms of biomarkers that become available in blood at the same or different disease stages
• Time course of biomarker changes in neurodegenerative diseases
• Novel insights and clinical/diagnostic utility of previously described blood biomarkers (NfL, p-tau, amyloid, GFAP)
• Studies on blood biomarker performance in diverse populations
• Studies that characterize the impact of analytical and logistic parameters (e.g., sample processing, storage and pre-analytical conditions) on blood biomarker measures
• Review and perspective articles that discuss recent advances, potential contexts of use and future perspectives of blood biomarkers

Keywords: Blood biomarker, Alzheimer's disease, tau, amyloid, neurofilament

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and they fall under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

      In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 103kTopic views
  • 71kArticle views
  • 29kArticle downloads
View impact