Cerebrospinal Fluid β-Amyloid(1-42) in Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

ALZHEIMER disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Although rare familial forms of AD exist, most patients have no clear family history and are classified as having sporadic AD. Today, the diagnosis of sporadic AD is based on relatively vague clinical criteria¹; diagnosis is definite only with an autopsy examination. Therefore, in clinical routine and especially in view of existing (acetylcholine esterase inhibitors) and emerging (eg, neuroprotective) therapeutic compounds, there is a pressing need for biochemical diagnostic markers of AD. Such biochemical markers would be especially helpful in the early course of the disease, when drug administration may have the greatest potential of being effective but clinical diagnosis is particularly difficult. Moreover, biochemical markers might also be useful to monitor the effect of new potential therapeutic compounds during treatment trials.