0:00
My name is Henrik Zetterberg.
I'm a professor of neurochemistry
at the Sahlgrenska Academy
at the University of
Gothenburg and also
at UCL Institute of
Neurology in London.
I will talk about biomarkers
of neurodegeneration.
0:16
This is an overview of the talk.
I will start with going through
basic concepts on fluid biomarkers.
Then I will talk about cerebrospinal
fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's
and Parkinson's and also other
neurodegenerative conditions.
I will end the talk by going
through cerebrospinal fluid
biomarkers of
traumatic brain injury.
And finally, I will talk
about peripheral blood
biomarkers for brain damage.
0:42
Why biomarkers, you could ask.
One common use of biomarkers
in other disease areas
is as an aid in clinical diagnosis.
This is actually relevant
for the Alzheimer's disease
biomarkers you will
hear more about soon.
One could also use biomarkers to
aid in clinical prognosis making.
Biomarkers could be
used as inclusion
criteria in clinical trials.
They could be used as
secondary outcome measures
also in clinical trials to
study pharmacodynamic effects
of the drugs that
the trial is testing.
One could learn more
about the disease
process in clinical research.
And then they could be used as a
tool in translational research.
You study the disease in a
cell or animal model using
different markers, and then you test
if these show up in your patients.
Finally, biomarkers can be used as
endophenotypes in genetic studies.
This is a rather new research area,
but it has been very successful,
resulting in many good papers
during the last few years.
1:39
What samples should you choose
if you study brain disorders.
Biomarker research
in brain disorders
is a bit complicated by the
blood-brain barrier, which shields
the brain from peripheral toxins,
bacteria, and things like that.
There is no barrier between the
cerebrospinal fluid and the brain,
which means that changes in
the brain interstitial fluid
will be reflected more or less
directly in cerebrospinal fluid,
whereas it will be more difficult
to see those changes in blood.
