About this Research Topic
This Research Topic is the first part of the article collection series: Preclinical Biomarkers and Functional Compensation in Brain Aging, Volume II.
Recent advances in the neurobiology of aging have established that cognitive decline and functional disabilities take place several years and even decades after the initiation of the pathological processes within the human brain. The resilience of neuronal circuits makes it possible to counterbalance the deleterious effects of degenerative, vascular, or other forms of pathology on cognition and mood. Although this may be considered good news in terms of primary and secondary prevention, it may also explain why most curative treatments proposed for Alzheimer’s Disease have failed their primary outcome when applied in clinically overt cases. Using biomarkers may allow for early identification of healthy elderly individuals who display the first signs of vulnerability at the cellular, structural or metabolic levels. Advanced proteomics, multimodal structural imaging, metabolic analyses have all been used to detect such biomarkers with the needed sensitivity and specificity. To date, individual identification of at-risk elders using biomarker algorithms in healthy aging is yet to be achieved.
We solicit original contributions and review articles related to all types of biomarkers predicting the evolution of aging-related brain pathological processes prior to the first clinical symptoms or signs of functional disability. Papers on neuropsychological and behavioral parameters, clinical neuroimaging (including structural and functional MRI, various PET and SPECT modalities, infrared spectroscopy, EEG advanced techniques), and CSF measures, as well as studies exploring functional compensation phenomena that occur in early stages of neurodegeneration, are especially welcome. Animal studies that provide insight into preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and associated disorders will be also considered.
Recent advances in the neurobiology of aging have established that cognitive decline and functional disabilities take place several years and even decades after the initiation of the pathological processes within the human brain. The resilience of neuronal circuits makes it possible to counterbalance the deleterious effects of degenerative, vascular, or other forms of pathology on cognition and mood. Although this may be considered good news in terms of primary and secondary prevention, it may also explain why most curative treatments proposed for Alzheimer’s Disease have failed their primary outcome when applied in clinically overt cases. Using biomarkers may allow for early identification of healthy elderly individuals who display the first signs of vulnerability at the cellular, structural or metabolic levels. Advanced proteomics, multimodal structural imaging, metabolic analyses have all been used to detect such biomarkers with the needed sensitivity and specificity. To date, individual identification of at-risk elders using biomarker algorithms in healthy aging is yet to be achieved.
We solicit original contributions and review articles related to all types of biomarkers predicting the evolution of aging-related brain pathological processes prior to the first clinical symptoms or signs of functional disability. Papers on neuropsychological and behavioral parameters, clinical neuroimaging (including structural and functional MRI, various PET and SPECT modalities, infrared spectroscopy, EEG advanced techniques), and CSF measures, as well as studies exploring functional compensation phenomena that occur in early stages of neurodegeneration, are especially welcome. Animal studies that provide insight into preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and associated disorders will be also considered.
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.
