Cerebrospinal fluid markers of prion diseases

There are no non-invasive tests allowing for definite premortem diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The paper presents the Current knowledge about laboratory tests supporting CJD diagnosis. 14-3-3 protein in the cerebrospinal fluid Is the only biochemical marker included in the diagnostic criteria for CJD approved by WHO. However, the test for 14-3-3 protein is useful Only when considered in an appropriate clinical context, together with other diagnostic criteria. In the paper we also present current research In the use of other proteins detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (tau, S100b, neuron-specific enolase, transthyretin, and beta-amyloid(1-42) as potential diagnostic markers. We discuss advantages and drawbacks of these markers.