International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Dear Colleagues,

Neurobiological diseases represent a major health problem. Even before COVID-19, they were the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability all over the world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the rise in many neurobiological symptoms and the aggravation of current neurobiological conditions, particularly in the elderly, due to COVID-19 have been observed. As of now, many people are suffering due to a condition called long COVID-19, which has deteriorating effects on neurobiological systems in particular.

The above being the case, newer and more precise methods are needed for the diagnosis and classification of the stages of neurobiological diseases. Recently, scientific research has focused on novel circulating biomarkers, which are biological indicators that objectively measure and evaluate physiological and/or pathophysiological parameters or pharmacological responses to therapeutics.

Current research on circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have suggested that they play a crucial role in regulating gene expression, and they have become an intensely studied research topic because of their close connection with the development of neurobiological diseases. Circulating miRNAs are believed to be potential biomarkers for various neurobiological diseases due to their valuable characteristics, including their sustentation, reliability, and high abundance in body fluids.

In this Special Issue, we focus on circulating biomarkers for the diagnosis and reliable detection of the diﬀerent stages of neurobiological diseases, their diverseness, and their pathogenesis, thereby designing targeted tailored treatments and predicting response outcomes to interventions.

Dr. Yasemin M. Akay
Guest Editor

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

14 pages, 1756 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Plasma GFAP in Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease in the Clinical Setting of Rapidly Progressive Dementia

by Giuseppe Mario Bentivenga, Simone Baiardi, Andrea Mastrangelo, Corrado Zenesini, Angela Mammana, Marcello Rossi, Barbara Polischi, Sabina Capellari and Piero Parchi

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(10), 5106; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25105106 - 8 May 2024

Viewed by 267

Abstract

The diagnostic and prognostic value of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (pl-GFAP) in sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) has never been assessed in the clinical setting of rapidly progressive dementia (RPD). Using commercially available immunoassays, we assayed the plasma levels of GFAP, tau (pl-tau), and neurofilament light chain (pl-NfL) and the CSF total tau (t-tau), 14-3-3, NfL, phospho-tau181 (p-tau), and amyloid-beta isoforms 42 (Aβ₄₂) and 40 (Aβ₄₀) in sCJD (n = 132) and non-prion RPD (np-RPD) (n = 94) patients, and healthy controls (HC) (n = 54). We also measured the CSF GFAP in 67 sCJD patients. Pl-GFAP was significantly elevated in the sCJD compared to the np-RPD and HC groups and affected by the sCJD subtype. Its diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve (AUC) 0.760) in discriminating sCJD from np-RPD was higher than the plasma and CSF NfL (AUCs of 0.596 and 0.663) but inferior to the 14-3-3, t-tau, and pl-tau (AUCs of 0.875, 0.918, and 0.805). Pl-GFAP showed no association with sCJD survival after adjusting for known prognostic factors. Additionally, pl-GFAP levels were associated with 14-3-3, pl-tau, and pl-NfL but not with CSF GFAP, Aβ₄₂/Aβ₄₀, and p-tau. The diagnostic and prognostic value of pl-GFAP is inferior to established neurodegeneration biomarkers. Nonetheless, pl-GFAP noninvasively detects neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in sCJD, warranting potential applications in disease monitoring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circulating Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Neurobiological Diseases—2nd Edition)

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