Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2023, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (1): 18-22.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.343882

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Extracellular vesicles in Alzheimer’s disease: from pathology to therapeutic approaches

Marta Garcia-Contreras, Avnesh S. Thakor*    

  1. Interventional Regenerative Medicine and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
  • Online:2023-01-15 Published:2022-06-16
  • Contact: Avnesh S. Thakor, MD, PhD, asthakor@stanford.edu.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Radiology Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease at Stanford University (to AST).

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that starts many years before the onset of cognitive symptoms. Identifying novel biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease has the potential for patient risk stratification, early diagnosis, and disease monitoring in response to therapy. A novel class of biomarkers is extracellular vesicles given their sensitivity and specificity to specific diseases. In addition, extracellular vesicles can be used as novel biological therapeutics given their ability to efficiently and functionally deliver therapeutic cargo. This is critical given the huge unmet need for novel treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s disease. This review summarizes and discusses the most recent findings in this field.

Key words: Alzheimer’s disease, brain, diagnostic, extracellular vesicles, isolation methods, microglia, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation, neurons, therapy