Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins in the Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, Parkinson Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Abstract

With an ageing population neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Parkinson's disease are becoming more prevalent. To date the clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is based on clinical criteria and clinical follow-up observations. For this reason there is a need to develop objective biological markers to establish an early and differential diagnosis in this field. Receptor imaging techniques of dopamine transporters with single photon emission tomography (SPECT) may contribute to the differential diagnosis of Parkinson syndromes or to distinguish dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD). For routine diagnosis a biological marker must be cheap, easy to detect and validated in terms of sensitivity and specificity. As already established for the diagnosis of AD, the analysis of specific CSF proteins might become an important diagnostic tool for other neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the current findings in the field of CSF biomarkers in Parkinson's disease, Parkinson dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.