Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of disorders that include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). All neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the loss of neurons, resulting in cognitive or functional impairment, or sometimes both. Research in the field of neurodegeneration is highlighting more, often overlapping, diseases that have similar cellular and sub-cellular pathogenic mechanisms.

Reliable detection of neurological biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) remains a key challenge in neurodegenerative disease research. Many of these markers are present at very low concentrations, and biological samples can contain components that interfere with accurate measurement.

Biomedical Scientist recently published ‘A preventative approach for Alzheimer’s’, which explores the first study evaluating the impact of obesity on Alzheimer’s blood biomarkers.

The interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), also known as CD25, is a transmembrane protein, which is up-regulated on activated T-cells, and shed into serum as soluble IL-2R...