Biomarcatori periferici nelle malattie neurodegenerative: una rassegna sui seed amplification assays

Peripheral biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases: a review of seed amplification assays Seed amplification assays (SAAs) are highly sensitive and advanced techniques originally developed for the study and diagnosis of prion diseases. Due to their exceptional sensitivity and specificity, SAAs are now widely used in both research and clinical settings to detect prions, including tests in peripheral tissues of patients with prion disorders. In recent years, many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, have been found to share “prion-like” mechanisms involving misfolding and spread of abnormal proteins. As a result, SAAs have been adapted to detect α-synuclein, tau, and TDP-43 not only in cerebrospinal fluid but also in minimally invasive peripheral samples, including olfactory mucosa, skin, saliva, blood, tears, and urine. This review summarises the contribution of SAAs to the clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.