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Biofluid Biomarkers in Huntington's Disease
Filipe B Rodrigues1, Lauren M Byrne1, Edward J Wild2
1Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|June 2, 2018
Summary
Huntington's disease (HD) research needs better biomarkers for tracking disease progression and symptoms. Biofluid biomarkers offer a promising avenue for reliable, molecular-level insights to advance clinical trials and drug development for HD.
Area of Science:
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Biomarker discovery
- Molecular diagnostics
Background:
- Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder lacking effective disease-modifying treatments.
- Current limitations in managing HD stem from a lack of reliable indicators for disease severity, progression, and phenotype.
- There is a critical need for new markers to guide clinical trials and therapeutic development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing literature on biofluid biomarkers for Huntington's disease.
- To identify biofluid biomarkers with the highest potential for clinical applicability in HD management.
- To highlight the advantages of biofluid biomarkers in assessing disease progression and facilitating drug development.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive review of published reports on biofluid biomarker studies in Huntington's disease.
- Emphasis on biomarkers demonstrating reliability, reproducibility, accuracy, and direct molecular quantification.
- Assessment of biomarker potential for clinical trial empowerment and hypothesis generation.
Main Results:
- Biofluid biomarkers offer advantages over traditional clinical measures, including cost-effectiveness and precision.
- These biomarkers can directly quantify underlying pathobiological processes at a molecular level.
- Several biofluid markers show promise for clinical application in tracking HD progression.
Conclusions:
- Biofluid biomarkers are crucial for advancing Huntington's disease research and clinical practice.
- The identified biomarkers are key to improving the reliability of clinical trials and developing new therapeutic strategies.
- Further development and validation of these biofluid markers are essential for effective HD patient management.