Title:The Unbiased Search of Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Volume: 17
Issue: 5
Author(s): Pascual Ferrara
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Neurodegenerative diseases, proteomics, peptidomics, mass spectrometry, biomarkers.
Abstract: A clear link exists between the extension of life expectancy throughout the world and the
increased incidence of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
are chronic diseases with devastating consequences for patients and their families. They also represent
a major economic cost for society. Therapeutic progress has been made mainly by alleviating
some of the symptoms of these diseases, but currently no cure is available. Attempts to develop new
therapies have been hampered mainly because of gaps in our current knowledge about the pathogenic
mechanism underlying neurodegeneration, making difficult the identification of targets for new drug
development, and also because of the lack of biomarkers essential for early diagnosis, patient stratification
and follow up of treatment. Taking advantage of the latest technical developments, proteomics and peptidomics
based approaches are being used to identify new cellular pathophysiological pathways as well as biomarkers in biological
fluids. Here we will review the results, mainly published in the last five years, of unbiased proteomics and peptidomics
approaches for biomarker research using biological fluids of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
patients.