Cerebrospinal fluid and blood biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Dementias: an update of the consensus of the Task Force on Biological Markers in Psychiatry of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry

Abstract

In the twelve years since the publication of the first Consensus Paper of the WFSBP on biomarkers of neurodegenerative dementias, enormous advancement has taken place in the field, and the Task Force takes now the opportunity to extend and update the original paper. New concepts of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and the conceptual interactions between AD and dementia due to AD were developed, resulting in two sets for diagnostic/research criteria. Procedures for preanalytical sample handling, biobanking, analyses, and post-analytical interpretation of the results were intensively studied and optimized. A global quality control project was introduced to evaluate and monitor the inter-center variability in measurements with the goal of harmonization of results. Contexts of use and how to approach candidate biomarkers in biological specimens other than cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), e. g. blood, were precisely defined. Important development was achieved in neuroimaging techniques, including studies comparing Amyloid-β PET results to fluid-based modalities. Similarly, development in research laboratory technologies, like ultrasensitive methods, raises our hopes to further improve analytical and diagnostic accuracy of classic and novel candidate biomarkers. Synergistically, advancement in clinical trials of anti-dementia therapies energizes and motivates the efforts to find and optimize the most reliable early diagnostic modalities. Finally, the first studies were published addressing the potential of cost-effectiveness of the biomarkers-based diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders