The Neurology Lounge strives hard to keep to the straight and narrow path of clinical neurology. But every now and then it takes a peek at what is happening at the cutting edge of neuroscience. And what can be more cutting edge then biomarkers, with their promise of simplifying disease identification, making prompt and accurate diagnosis an effortless task.
The quintessential biomarker however remains as elusive as quicksilver. Not that one could tell, going by the rate biomarkers are being spun from the neuroscience mills. Biomarkers are the buzz in many neurological fields, from brain tumours to multiple sclerosis (MS), from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to Huntington’s disease (HD).
The proliferation of contending biomarkers is however probably highest in the field of motor neurone disease (MND). Is there a holy grail out there to enable the rapid and accurate diagnosis of this relentlessly progressive disease? There is clearly no dearth of substances jostling for prime position in the promised land of MND biomarkers. Below is a shortlist of potential MND CSF biomarkers; just click on any to go to the source!
Biomarkers elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
Ferritin heavy chain (FHC)
Ferritin light chain (FLC)
Interferon g (IFN-g)
MIP 1a
Interleukin 12
Interleukin 15
Interleukin 17
Interleukin 23
Chromogranin A (CgA)
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)
Tau
Neurofilaments
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
Chitotriosidase 1 (CHIT 1)
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF 1)
Matric metaloproteinases (MMPs)
Homocysteine
Cystacin C
Monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP 1)
Flt3 ligand
Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)
Nitrate
Anti-ganglioside antibodies
Biomarkers reduced in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
Alpha 1 antitrypsin
Erythropeoitin
Chloride
Angiotensin II
Cytochrome C
Cyclic GMP (cGMP)
Acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity
Why not check out more about MND in Neurochecklists
