Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to monitor treatment effects in Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions

SUMMARY Neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory conditions are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To support the development of effective treatments, and to increase the understanding of disease mechanisms, much focus has been directed towards identifying biomarkers of treatment effects in these conditions. Cerebrospinal fluid has been extensively utilized for this purpose. For example, researchers now have candidate cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to identify pharmacodynamic effects on β-amyloid metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease, and downstream effects on axonal loss in several neurological diseases. Here we describe candidate markers that potentially may be implemented as pharmacodynamic markers in clinical trials and routine clinical settings.