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Blood-based biomarkers for dementia with Lewy bodies
John Acquaviva, Vedad Delic, Nicholas Bellacicco, Yun-Beom Choi. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2026-06-09
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), a synucleinopathy, is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease (AD). Yet, DLB is often more aggressive and clinically challenging to diagnose due to overlapping symptoms with AD and Parkinson's disease dementia. Reliable biomarkers are necessary, since a definitive diagnosis of DLB currently requires postmortem tissue analysis. Blood-based biomarkers represent a minimally invasive and cost-effective avenue for earlier and more accurate diagnosis. This review integrates current evidence on blood biomarkers for DLB, at times extrapolated from other synucleinopathies, with a focus on α-synuclein and its derivatives, including extracellular vesicle-associated α-synuclein, seeding amplification assays, and autoantibodies. Additional biomarkers such as phosphorylated tau and amyloid-β highlight the frequent co-pathology with AD, while markers of neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress, heart-type fatty acid-binding protein, proteomic profiling, lipid, and other metabolites offer complementary diagnostic and prognostic potential. Although no single blood biomarker currently provides definitive diagnostic, differential, and prognostic accuracy for DLB, the studies reviewed here provide converging evidence that combined blood-based biomarker panels may offer meaningful clinical promise in facilitating earlier detection, guiding prognosis, and improving the design of targeted therapeutic trials for DLB.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Acquaviva, J., Delic, V., Bellacicco, N., & Choi, Y.-B. (2026). Blood-based biomarkers for dementia with Lewy bodies. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877261456317
Vancouver
Acquaviva J, Delic V, Bellacicco N, Choi Y.-B. Blood-based biomarkers for dementia with Lewy bodies. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2026. doi:10.1177/13872877261456317. PMID: 42261703.
BibTeX
@article{acquaviva2026-42261703,
author = {Acquaviva, John and Delic, Vedad and Bellacicco, Nicholas and Choi, Yun-Beom},
title = {{Blood-based biomarkers for dementia with Lewy bodies}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1177/13872877261456317},
pmid = {42261703},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877261456317}
}
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Key findings
- Reliable biomarkers are necessary, since a definitive diagnosis of DLB currently requires postmortem tissue analysis.
- Blood-based biomarkers represent a minimally invasive and cost-effective avenue for earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
- This review integrates current evidence on blood biomarkers for DLB, at times extrapolated from other synucleinopathies, with a focus on α-synuclein and its derivatives, including extracellular vesicle-associated α-synuclein, seeding amplification assays, and autoantibodies.
- Additional biomarkers such as phosphorylated tau and amyloid-β highlight the frequent co-pathology with AD, while markers of neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress, heart-type fatty acid-binding protein, proteomic profiling, lipid, and other metabolites offer complementary diagnostic and prognostic potential.
- Although no single blood biomarker currently provides definitive diagnostic, differential, and prognostic accuracy for DLB, the studies reviewed here provide converging evidence that combined blood-based biomarker panels may offer meaningful clinical promise in facilitating earlier detection, guiding prognosis, and improving the design of targeted therapeutic trials for DLB.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multicenter collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 25 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42261703) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 25 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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