Brain HealthAlzheimer's Biomarkers Are Reshaping Early Detection and Clinical Trial Design
Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60–80% of all dementia cases worldwide and begins silently altering the brain years before memory symptoms appear. This review examines the most important biomarkers used in Alzheimer's randomized clinical trials — including amyloid-beta, tau proteins, neuroinflammation markers, neurodegeneration indicators, and neuroimaging modalities. These tools help researchers identify the right patients for trials, confirm that treatments are hitting their intended targets, and track biological responses over time. Critically, no single biomarker tells the full story; combining multiple measures with cognitive assessments gives the clearest picture of disease status. Advances in blood-based biomarker testing are making frequent, accessible monitoring a realistic goal, potentially enabling much earlier intervention before irreversible brain damage occurs.
