Emerging Molecular Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and other related disorders, represent a major and rapidly growing global health challenge. These conditions are characterized by progressive neuronal loss, leading to cognitive and motor dysfunction, severe disability, and substantial socioeconomic burden. Despite extensive research efforts, effective disease-modifying therapies remain limited, largely due to the complexity of disease mechanisms and the difficulty of detecting these disorders at early stages.In recent years, the identification of molecular biomarkers has emerged as a critical strategy for improving the early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases. Advances in high-throughput technologies including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics, have accelerated the discovery of candidate biomarkers associated with disease onset and progression. Particularly promising developments include blood-based biomarkers, extracellular vesicles, circulating nucleic acids, and protein signatures that reflect pathological processes such as neuroinflammation, protein aggregation, synaptic dysfunction, and neuronal injury. These molecular indicators may enable minimally invasive diagnostic tools and facilitate patient stratification for clinical trials.At the same time, emerging computational approaches, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, are increasingly being used to integrate multi-omics data and identify biomarker signatures with improved diagnostic accuracy and predictive power.This Research Topic aims to highlight recent advances in the discovery, validation, and clinical application of emerging molecular biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases. We welcome original research articles, reviews, hypothesis and theory, FAIR² Data, case report, opinion, and perspectives that explore novel molecular markers and their potential role in diagnosis, prognosis, disease monitoring, and therapeutic development.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Blood-based biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases• Molecular biomarkers for early and preclinical diagnosis• Proteomic, metabolomic, and lipidomic biomarker discovery• Multi-omics approaches for biomarker identification• Circulating nucleic acids and RNA biomarkers• Extracellular vesicles and exosome-derived biomarkers• Biomarkers of neuroinflammation and immune responses• Biomarkers associated with protein aggregation and proteostasis• Computational approaches and artificial intelligence for biomarker discovery• Biomarker-driven patient stratification and precision medicine• Translational validation and clinical implementation of molecular biomarkersBy bringing together contributions from basic scientists, clinicians, and computational researchers, this Research Topic seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of innovative molecular biomarkers that may transform the diagnosis and management of neurodegenerative diseases and accelerate the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. Topic editors: Matteo Becatti, Monica Bucciantini, Manuela Leri, Darius Sulskis Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79847/emerging-molecular-biomarkers-in-neurodegenerative-diseases