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J Med Oncl Ther 2017 | Volume 2 Issue 4
Oncology and Biomarkers Summit
November 27-28, 2017 | Atlanta, USA
Annual Congress on
Preclinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Tapan K Khan
West Virginia University, USA
T
he pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) occurs as a
sequence of events that start years or decades before
clinical dementia appears. A prolonged phase of preclinical
AD has been described in numerous studies. Identification
of individuals in the preclinical phase of AD would provide a
critical window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention
to slow the progression of the disease. Therapeutic
interventions are currently focused on the later stages
of AD (mild cognitive impairment [MCI] or AD dementia)
and most clinical trials of these therapies have failed.
Detection of various biomarkers hold enormous promise for
identifying individuals with preclinical AD and predicting the
development of AD dementia. In addition to AD biomarkers
in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (Abeta42, tau and phosphor-tau),
non-invasive neuroimaging can detect brain atrophy in the
medial temporal area (measured by magnetic resonance
imaging, MRI) and amyloid plaques (measured by positron
emission tomography, PET). These biomarkers are now being
used to support the preclinical AD diagnosis in the clinical
research setting. Other neuroimaging studies have examined
region-specific cerebral blood flow and microstructural
changes as biomarkers of preclinical AD. Functional MRI
(fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI, atrial spin
labeling (ASL) MRI and advanced PET imaging have potential
applications in preclinical AD diagnosis. In this presentation,
we critically evaluate the utility of neuroimaging AD
biomarkers in the diagnosis of preclinical AD and propose
a comprehensive preclinical AD diagnostic algorithm based
on neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers, as well as genetic
markers of AD (Figure). Although commonly viewed as
an abnormality of the brain, AD is a systemic disease with
associated dysfunction in metabolic, oxidative, inflammatory
and biochemical pathways in peripheral tissues, such as the
skin and blood cells. This has led researchers to investigate
and develop assays of peripheral AD biomarkers that require
minimally invasive skin or blood samples.
Speaker Biography
Tapan K Khan has expertise in Alzheimer’s disease biomarker. He has published
numerous research articles in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. He was an Associate
Professor at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI). Currently,
he is a Lead Research Scientist at the BRNI, West Virginia University. He is the Lead
Investigator for the development of noninvasive diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease
in his Institute. He has published a book, title:
“Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease”
recently (Academic press). He is also an Associate Editor of the
Journal of Alzheimer’s
disease.
e:
tkhan@hsc.wvu.edu