Shifting the Paradigm in Diagnosing and Treating Neurologic Diseases

The clinical management of neurologic disorders such as Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurologic disorders is undergoing a transformative shift toward early, biomarker-driven intervention. Traditional diagnostic, prognostic, or monitoring approaches rely heavily on neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, or both; however, blood-based biomarkers offer an accessible, cost effective alternative to optimize diagnosis, triage, risk stratification, and/or monitoring. When structural or cellular damage occurs in the central nervous system, brain-derived proteins cross the blood brain barrier into the peripheral circulation, serving as indicators of underlying neuropathology. Assays designed to measure these brain-derived proteins (eg, phosphorylated-tau217 [p-tau217] and neurofilament light [NfL] chain) significantly outperform nonspecific peripheral markers in detecting pathology. This education program addresses critical provider knowledge gaps in biomarker biology, assay accuracy, result interpretation, and clinical workflow integration.

Learning Objectives:
After participating in this activity, learners will be able to:

• Analyze the current clinical limitations and the need for new, cost-effective, and accurate biomarkers in the diagnosis or management of neurologic conditions, such as Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis, and other neurologic disorders.
• Identify the key blood-based biomarkers, including clinically integrated markers (p-tau217, NfL) and emerging research markers (brain-derived tau [BDtau]), and explain the biologic basis for their detection in peripheral blood.
• Evaluate the role of these biomarkers as a tool in neurology research and treatment and compare their utility over or in conjunction with traditional imaging techniques, such as CSF biomarkers, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography scans.