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Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Cerebrospinal Fluid MicroRNA Profiling Using Quantitative Real Time PCR
Published on: January 22, 2014
Circulating MicroRNAs as Diagnostic Biomarkers of Clinical Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis
Dan Shi1, Mengyu Han1, Weilin Liu2
1National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Rehabilitation Medicine Technology, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
Background:
Minimally invasive diagnostic biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) facilitate patient selection and cognitive progressive decline monitoring. However, the diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) for early cognitive impairment and progression to dementia is currently under debate. Thus, this study aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of circulating, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and exosomal miRNAs in the detection of clinical cognitive impairment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, and MCI-AD.
Methods:
We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Chinese Science and Technology Journals Database (CQVIP), and Chinese Medicine Premier (Wanfang) to identify potentially eligible studies related to noncoding RNAs and cognitive dysfunction biomarkers published before November 2018. The quality assessment of the studies was performed according to the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) checklist. Meta-analysis of the literature data was performed using Stata/MP 14.0 software. The corresponding effects models were selected to calculate the summary sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and to plot the summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROCs) and calculate the areas under the curves (AUCs).
Results:
A total of 18 studies involving 729 patients with AD, 283 patients with MCI, and 15 patients with MCI-AD were pooled. The results revealed that the sensitivity and specificity of miRNAs in the diagnosis of AD were 0.78 and 0.79, respectively, and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUSROC) was 0.90. The sensitivity and specificity of miRNAs in the diagnosis of MCI were 0.89 and 0.85, respectively, and the AUSROC was 0.94. The sensitivity and specificity of microRNAs in the diagnosis of MCI-AD were 0.87 and 0.84, respectively, and the AUSROC was 0.92.
Conclusion:
Our study found that miRNAs have certain diagnostic value for cognitive impairment, with high sensitivity and specificity, especially in diagnostics with multiple miRNAs and serum-based miRNA assays.
Insights
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) show significant diagnostic value for detecting cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These biomarkers offer high sensitivity and specificity, particularly when using multiple miRNAs or serum-based assays.
Area of Science:
- Biomarkers and Diagnostics
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
Background:
- Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) require minimally invasive biomarkers for patient monitoring.
- The diagnostic utility of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) for early cognitive impairment and dementia progression remains under investigation.
- Current research debates the effectiveness of miRNAs in diagnosing cognitive decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of circulating, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and exosomal miRNAs.
- To assess the ability of miRNAs to detect clinical cognitive impairment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, and MCI-AD.
- To determine the diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs for different stages of cognitive impairment.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, CQVIP, Wanfang) up to November 2018.
- Study quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) checklist.
- Meta-analysis was performed using Stata/MP 14.0 to calculate diagnostic accuracy metrics (sensitivity, specificity, AUCs) and generate summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROCs).
Main Results:
- The meta-analysis included 18 studies with data from 729 AD patients, 283 MCI patients, and 15 MCI-AD patients.
- For AD diagnosis, miRNAs demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.78, specificity of 0.79, and an Area Under the Summary ROC Curve (AUSROC) of 0.90.
- For MCI diagnosis, miRNAs showed a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.85, and an AUSROC of 0.94; for MCI-AD, sensitivity was 0.87, specificity 0.84, and AUSROC 0.92.
Conclusions:
- MicroRNAs exhibit considerable diagnostic value for cognitive impairment, characterized by high sensitivity and specificity.
- The diagnostic accuracy is particularly enhanced when employing multiple miRNAs or utilizing serum-based miRNA assays.
- miRNAs represent promising minimally invasive biomarkers for the early detection and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases.
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