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Challenges in the practical implementation of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
Schöll M, Verberk IMW, Del Campo M, Delaby C, Therriault J, Chong JR, Palmqvist S, Alcolea D.. The lancet. Healthy longevity, 2024-10-03
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Blood biomarkers have emerged as accessible, cost-effective, and highly promising tools for advancing the diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease. However, transitioning from cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to blood biomarkers-eg, to verify amyloid β pathology-requires careful consideration. This Series paper highlights the main challenges in the implementation of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in different possible contexts of use. Despite the robustness of measuring blood biomarker concentrations, the widespread adoption of blood biomarkers requires rigorous standardisation efforts to address inherent challenges in diverse contexts of use. The challenges include understanding the effect of pre-analytical and analytical conditions, potential confounding factors, and comorbidities that could influence outcomes of blood biomarkers and their use in diverse populations. Additionally, distinct scenarios present their own specific challenges. In memory clinics, the successful integration of blood biomarkers in diagnostic tests will require well-established diagnostic accuracy and comprehensive assessments of the effect of blood biomarkers on the diagnostic confidence and patient management of clinicians. In primary care settings, and even more when implemented in population-based screening programmes for which no experience with any biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease currently exists, the implementation of blood biomarkers will be challenged by the need for education of primary care clinical staff and clear guidelines. However, despite the challenges, blood biomarkers hold great promise for substantially enhancing the diagnostic accuracy and effectively streamlining referral processes, leading to earlier diagnosis and access to treatments. The ongoing efforts that are shaping the integration of blood biomarkers across diverse clinical settings pave the way towards precision medicine in Alzheimer's disease.
Key findings
- Additionally, distinct scenarios present their own specific challenges.
- In memory clinics, the successful integration of blood biomarkers in diagnostic tests will require well-established diagnostic accuracy and comprehensive assessments of the effect of blood biomarkers on the diagnostic confidence and patient management of clinicians.
- In primary care settings, and even more when implemented in population-based screening programmes for which no experience with any biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease currently exists, the implementation of blood biomarkers will be challenged by the need for education of primary care clinical staff and clear guidelines.
- However, despite the challenges, blood biomarkers hold great promise for substantially enhancing the diagnostic accuracy and effectively streamlining referral processes, leading to earlier diagnosis and access to treatments.
- The ongoing efforts that are shaping the integration of blood biomarkers across diverse clinical settings pave the way towards precision medicine in Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / 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 and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The lancet. Healthy longevity) |
| 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 | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 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 | — / 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 |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39369727) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 26 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Schöll, M., Verberk, I. M. W., Del Campo, M., Delaby, C., Therriault, J., Chong, JR., et al. (2024). Challenges in the practical implementation of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. The lancet. Healthy longevity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.07.013
Vancouver
Schöll M, Verberk IMW, Del Campo M, Delaby C, Therriault J, Chong JR, et al. Challenges in the practical implementation of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. The lancet. Healthy longevity. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.07.013. PMID: 39369727.
BibTeX
@article{scholl2024-39369727,
author = {Schöll, M. and Verberk, I. M. W. and Del Campo, M. and Delaby, C. and Therriault, J. and Chong, JR. and Palmqvist, S. and Alcolea, D.},
title = {{Challenges in the practical implementation of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {The lancet. Healthy longevity},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.07.013},
pmid = {39369727},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.07.013}
}