Browsing by Author "Vergallo, Andrea"

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    Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease: Current state and future use in a transformed global healthcare landscape
    (Elsevier, 2023) Hampel, Harald; Hu, Yan; Cummings, Jeffrey; Mattke, Soeren; Iwatsubo, Takeshi; Nakamura, Akinori; Vellas, Bruno; O’Bryant, Sid; Shaw, Leslie M.; Cho, Min; Batrla, Richard; Vergallo, Andrea; Blennow, Kaj; Dage, Jeffrey; Schindler, Suzanne E.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Timely detection of the pathophysiological changes and cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasingly pressing because of the advent of biomarker-guided targeted therapies that may be most effective when provided early in the disease. Currently, diagnosis and management of early AD are largely guided by clinical symptoms. FDA-approved neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers can aid detection and diagnosis, but the clinical implementation of these testing modalities is limited because of availability, cost, and perceived invasiveness. Blood-based biomarkers (BBBMs) may enable earlier and faster diagnoses as well as aid in risk assessment, early detection, prognosis, and management. Herein, we review data on BBBMs that are closest to clinical implementation, particularly those based on measures of amyloid-β peptides and phosphorylated tau species. We discuss key parameters and considerations for the development and potential deployment of these BBBMs under different contexts of use and highlight challenges at the methodological, clinical, and regulatory levels.
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    The cholinergic system in the pathophysiology and treatment of Alzheimer's disease
    (Oxford University Press, 2018-07) Hampel, Harald; Mesulam, M.-Marsel; Cuello, A. Claudio; Farlow, Martin R.; Giacobini, Ezio; Grossberg, George T.; Khachaturian, Ara S.; Vergallo, Andrea; Cavedo, Enrica; Snyder, Peter J.; Khachaturian, Zaven S.; Neurology, IU School of Medicine
    Cholinergic synapses are ubiquitous in the human central nervous system. Their high density in the thalamus, striatum, limbic system, and neocortex suggest that cholinergic transmission is likely to be critically important for memory, learning, attention and other higher brain functions. Several lines of research suggest additional roles for cholinergic systems in overall brain homeostasis and plasticity. As such, the brain's cholinergic system occupies a central role in ongoing research related to normal cognition and age-related cognitive decline, including dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. The cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease centres on the progressive loss of limbic and neocortical cholinergic innervation. Neurofibrillary degeneration in the basal forebrain is believed to be the primary cause for the dysfunction and death of forebrain cholinergic neurons, giving rise to a widespread presynaptic cholinergic denervation. Cholinesterase inhibitors increase the availability of acetylcholine at synapses in the brain and are one of the few drug therapies that have been proven clinically useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease dementia, thus validating the cholinergic system as an important therapeutic target in the disease. This review includes an overview of the role of the cholinergic system in cognition and an updated understanding of how cholinergic deficits in Alzheimer's disease interact with other aspects of disease pathophysiology, including plaques composed of amyloid-β proteins. This review also documents the benefits of cholinergic therapies at various stages of Alzheimer's disease and during long-term follow-up as visualized in novel imaging studies. The weight of the evidence supports the continued value of cholinergic drugs as a standard, cornerstone pharmacological approach in Alzheimer's disease, particularly as we look ahead to future combination therapies that address symptoms as well as disease progression.
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    Designing the next-generation clinical care pathway for Alzheimer’s disease
    (Springer Nature, 2022) Hampel, Harald; Au, Rhoda; Mattke, Soeren; van der Flier, Wiesje M.; Aisen, Paul; Apostolova, Liana; Chen, Christopher; Cho, Min; De Santi, Susan; Gao, Peng; Iwata, Atsushi; Kurzman, Ricky; Saykin, Andrew J.; Teipel, Stefan; Vellas, Bruno; Vergallo, Andrea; Wang, Huali; Cummings, Jeffrey; Neurology, School of Medicine
    The reconceptualization of Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a clinical and biological construct has facilitated the development of biomarker-guided, pathway-based targeted therapies, many of which have reached late-stage development with the near-term potential to enter global clinical practice. These medical advances mark an unprecedented paradigm shift and requires an optimized global framework for clinical care pathways for AD. In this Perspective, we describe the blueprint for transitioning from the current, clinical symptom-focused and inherently late-stage diagnosis and management of AD to the next-generation pathway that incorporates biomarker-guided and digitally facilitated decision-making algorithms for risk stratification, early detection, timely diagnosis, and preventative or therapeutic interventions. We address critical and high-priority challenges, propose evidence-based strategic solutions, and emphasize that the perspectives of affected individuals and care partners need to be considered and integrated.