Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Research focus: pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s research, particularly search for new biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.

Biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases are needed for early diagnosis, follow-up of the progression of the disease and monitoring of therapeutic responses.

Research Methods

We have a large biobank including blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from over 2000 individuals including cognitively intact controls and subjects with neurodegenerative diseases (for example over 500 AD patients).  These samples have been collected from our memory clinic and from subjects participating our longitudinal population-based studies. 
We use different proteomic methods (immunoassays, 2D electrophoresis) for the analyses of blood, CSF and brain samples (in collaboration with Kuopio Brain Bank), and RNA macroarrays for the analyses of brain samples.  We also use different tissue culture models for the functional studies.

Main Achievements and services

In our clinical-pathological study we have shown that CSF amyloid-β42, Tau and phospho-Tau are markers for AD type pathology and can be used for prediction of AD in MCI subjects.  Based on these studies we have standardised the measurements of CSF amyloid-β42, Tau and phospho-Tau and established a service laboratory that makes these tests available for clinicians and other interested parties. See link http://www.uef.fi/alzheimermarkkeritutkimukset.

Collaborators

• cNEUPRO
• HUPO
• New York Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (Pankaj Mehta, Ved Chauhan)
• Finnish Institute Of Occupational Health (Tuula Nyman),
• Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus (Reino Laatikainen)