The understanding of
neurodegenerative diseases, traditionally considered to be well-defined entities with distinguishable clinical phenotypes, has undergone a major shift over the last 20 years. The diagnosis of
neurodegenerative diseases primarily requires functional brain imaging techniques or invasive tests such as lumbar puncture to assess cerebrospinal fluid. A new
biological approach and research efforts, especially in vivo, have focused on
biomarkers indicating underlying
proteinopathy in cerebrospinal fluid and blood serum. However, due to the complexity and heterogeneity of neurodegenerative processes within the central nervous system and the large number of overlapping clinical diagnoses, identifying individual
proteinopathies is relatively difficult and often not entirely accurate. For this reason, there is an urgent need to develop laboratory methods for identifying specific
biomarkers, understand the molecular basis of
neurodegenerative disorders and classify the quantifiable and readily available tools that can accelerate efforts to translate the knowledge into disease-modifying
therapies that can improve and simplify the areas of differential diagnosis, as well as monitor the disease course with the aim of estimating the prognosis or evaluating the effects of treatment. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about clinically relevant
biomarkers in different
neurodegenerative diseases.