淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ) 聚集成寡聚物，纤维，和斑块是阿尔茨海默病(AD)发病的主要症状，这也是目前阿尔茨海默病(AD)药物开发的主要焦点。

        2015年3月在发表于《Trends in pharmacological sciences》(药理学趋势)杂志的一篇文章提出，对患者的淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ)代谢和聚集的直接标志物进行监控，对进一步研究疾病的发病机制是十分重要的。同时还需要对靶向药物对临床试验患者的生化影响进行监测。此外，如果淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ) 相关疾病的修饰药物在临床上被证明是有效的，淀粉样蛋白生物标志物的监测，对于有阿尔茨海默病(AD)风险的患者与脑淀粉样蛋白沉积的患者的确诊是十分有意义的。可以在神经退行性变严重前就进行治疗，监测淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ) 代谢或病理情况也能够指导用药。两种类型的淀粉样蛋白生物标志物已开发：一种是淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ)结合l配体，可使用正电子发射断层扫描(PET)监测;和第二种是检测脑脊液(CSF)中的Aβ42。文章还介绍了这些生物标志物的基本原理，并比较它们监测脑中淀粉样蛋白β (Aβ)斑块的能力，还对可能存在的不足之处进行了介绍，强调了对生物标志物标准化，以及他们在临床中使用的必要性。

        Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2015 Mar 31. pii: S0165-6147(15)00042-5. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2015.03.002. [Epub ahead of print]

        Amyloid biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease.

        Blennow K1, Mattsson N2, Schöll M3, Hansson O4, Zetterberg H5.

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        Abstract

        Aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) into oligomers, fibrils, and plaques is central in the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and is the main focus of AD drug development. Biomarkers to monitor Aβ metabolism and aggregation directly in patients are important for further detailed study of the involvement of Aβ in disease pathogenesis and to monitor the biochemical effect of drugs targeting Aβ in clinical trials. Furthermore, if anti-Aβ disease-modifying drugs prove to be effective clinically, amyloid biomarkers will be of special value in the clinic to identify patients with brain amyloid deposition at risk for progression to AD dementia, to enable initiation of treatment before neurodegeneration is too severe, and to monitor drug effects on Aβ metabolism or pathology to guide dosage. Two types of amyloid biomarker have been developed: Aβ-binding ligands for use in positron emission tomography (PET) and assays to measure Aβ42 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this review, we present the rationales behind these biomarkers and compare their ability to measure Aβ plaque load in the brain. We also review possible shortcomings and the need of standardization of both biomarkers, as well as their implementation in the clinic.