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An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders
Ashton NJ, Hye A, Rajkumar AP, Leuzy A, Snowden S, Suárez-Calvet M, Karikari TK, Schöll M et al.. Nature reviews. Neurology, 2020-04-22
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Cerebrospinal fluid analyses and neuroimaging can identify the underlying pathophysiology at the earliest stage of some neurodegenerative disorders, but do not have the scalability needed for population screening. Therefore, a blood-based marker for such pathophysiology would have greater utility in a primary care setting and in eligibility screening for clinical trials. Rapid advances in ultra-sensitive assays have enabled the levels of pathological proteins to be measured in blood samples, but research has been predominantly focused on Alzheimer disease (AD). Nonetheless, proteins that were identified as potential blood-based biomarkers for AD, for example, amyloid-β, tau, phosphorylated tau and neurofilament light chain, are likely to be relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders that involve similar pathological processes and could also be useful for the differential diagnosis of clinical symptoms. This Review outlines the neuropathological, clinical, molecular imaging and cerebrospinal fluid features of the most common neurodegenerative disorders outside the AD continuum and gives an overview of the current status of blood-based biomarkers for these disorders.
Key findings
- Cerebrospinal fluid analyses and neuroimaging can identify the underlying pathophysiology at the earliest stage of some neurodegenerative disorders, but do not have the scalability needed for population screening.
- Therefore, a blood-based marker for such pathophysiology would have greater utility in a primary care setting and in eligibility screening for clinical trials.
- Rapid advances in ultra-sensitive assays have enabled the levels of pathological proteins to be measured in blood samples, but research has been predominantly focused on Alzheimer disease (AD).
- Nonetheless, proteins that were identified as potential blood-based biomarkers for AD, for example, amyloid-β, tau, phosphorylated tau and neurofilament light chain, are likely to be relevant to other neurodegenerative disorders that involve similar pathological processes and could also be useful for the differential diagnosis of clinical symptoms.
- This Review outlines the neuropathological, clinical, molecular imaging and cerebrospinal fluid features of the most common neurodegenerative disorders outside the AD continuum and gives an overview of the current status of blood-based biomarkers for these disorders.
Why it matters
This review describes how blood-based markers for neurodegenerative disorders other than Alzheimer disease are still at an early stage, with research so far focused mainly on Alzheimer disease. It does not report any treatment, cure or prevention, only the potential usefulness of such markers for screening and diagnosis.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nature reviews. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Nature Reviews Neurology: journal h-index 269 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 188 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 23.5 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 13 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 63 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Dag Aarsland: h-index 141 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 22 institution(s) in 6 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32322100) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1038/s41582-020-0348-0
- PubMed: 32322100
- Original source →
- Free full text: kclpure.kcl.ac.uk →
Full text: free to read — Unpaywall lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ashton, N. J., Hye, A., Rajkumar, A. P., Leuzy, A., Snowden, S., Suárez-Calvet, M., et al. (2020). An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders. Nature reviews. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-0348-0
Vancouver
Ashton NJ, Hye A, Rajkumar AP, Leuzy A, Snowden S, Suárez-Calvet M, et al. An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders. Nature reviews. Neurology. 2020. doi:10.1038/s41582-020-0348-0. PMID: 32322100.
BibTeX
@article{ashton2020-32322100,
author = {Ashton, N. J. and Hye, A. and Rajkumar, A. P. and Leuzy, A. and Snowden, S. and Suárez-Calvet, M. and Karikari, T. K. and Schöll, M. and others},
title = {{An update on blood-based biomarkers for non-Alzheimer neurodegenerative disorders}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Neurology},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1038/s41582-020-0348-0},
pmid = {32322100},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-0348-0}
}
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