Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease: Searching for the Missing Link Between Biology and Clinic

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Emerging Technologies for Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease

Part of the book series: Health, Technology and Society ((HTE))

Abstract

Boenink argues that responsible biomedical research should at least address legitimate and urgent needs of those suffering from the disease, and asks whether research on molecular biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) satisfies this criterion. To this end, she investigates how the interrelation of biological and clinical phenomena related to AD is conceptualized, pursued, and shaped in (1) discourse on biomarkers in general; (2) scientific literature on AD biomarkers and new guidelines for diagnosing the disease; and (3) the design of a specific AD biomarker research project. Boenink concludes that patients’ and caregivers’ needs easily disappear from view while exploring the complex relations between biology and clinic, and suggests that to stimulate responsible AD biomarker research, both ‘epistemic’ and ‘translational’ responsibility need to be enhanced.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Biomarkers Definition Working Group. 2001. Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints: Preferred Definitions and Conceptual Framework. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 69(3): 89–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boenink, M. 2013. Van confectie naar maatkleding? ‘Personalized medicine’ en het onderscheid normaal – pathologisch. In Komt een filosoof bij de dokter. Denken over gezondheid en zorg, eds. M. Schermer, M. Boenink, and G. Meijnen. Amsterdam: Boom.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boenink, M. 2016. Disease in the Era of Genomic and Molecular Medicine. In Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Philosophy of Medicine, ed. J. Marcum. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canguilhem, G. 1991. The Normal and the Pathological. New York: Zone Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Code, L. 1987. Epistemic Responsibility. Hanover: University Press of New England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, B., H.F. Feldman, C. Jacova, S.T. DeKosky, P. Barberger-Gateau, J. Cummings, A. Delacourte, et al. 2007. Research Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease: Revising the NINCDS–ADRDA Criteria. The Lancet Neurology 6(8): 734–746.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, B., H.F. Feldman, C. Jacova, J. Cummings, S.T. DeKosky, P. Barberger-Gateau, A. Delacourte, et al. 2010. Revising the Definition of Alzheimer’s Disease: A New Lexicon. The Lancet Neurology 9(11): 1118–1127.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Science Foundation. 2012. Personalised Medicine for the European Citizen. Towards More Precise Medicine for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Disease (iPM). Strasbourg: European Science Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handels, R.L.H. 2014. Health Technology Assessment of Diagnostic Strategies for Alzheimer’s Disease. Maastricht: PhD thesis, University of Maastricht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handels, R.L.H., M.A. Joore, A. Tran-Duy, A. Wimo, C.A. Wolfs, F.R. Verhey, and J.L. Severens. 2015. Early Cost-Utility Analysis of General and Cerebrospinal Fluid-Specific Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers for Hypothetical Disease-Modifying Treatment Decision in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 11(8): 896–905.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humpel, C. 2011. Identifying and Validating Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease. Trends in Biotechnology 29(1): 26–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, C.R. Jr., M.S. Albert, D.S. Knopman, G.M. McKhann, R.A. Sperling, M.C. Carillo, B. Thies. et al. 2011. Introduction to the Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association Workgroups on Diagnostic Guidelines for Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s and Dementia 7(3): 257–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitwood, T. 1997. Dementia Reconsidered. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeARN. 2007. Project Description LeARN. Eindhoven: Centre for Translational Molecular Medicine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H.G., G. Casadeus, X. Zhu, A. Takeda, G. Perry, and M.A. Smith. 2004. Challenging the Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis: Senile Plaques and Amyloid-β as Protective Adaptations to Alzheimer Disease. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1019(1): 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lock, M. 2013. The Alzheimer Conundrum: Entanglements of Dementia and Aging. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, I. 2011. Dementia and the Limits to Life: Anthropological Sensibilities, STS Interferences, and Possibilities for Action in Care. Science, Technology & Human Values 36(5): 704–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Academy of Sciences. 2011. Toward Precision Medicine: Building a Knowledge Network for Biomedical Research and a New Taxonomy of Disease. Washington, DC: National Academics Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R.C., G.E. Smith, S.C. Waring, R.J. Ivnik, E.G. Tangalos, and E. Kokmen. 1999. Mild Cognitive Impairment: Clinical Characterization and Outcome. Archives of Neurology 56(3): 303–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R.C. 2009. Mild Cognitive Impairment: Ten Years Later. Archives of Neurology 66(12): 1447–1455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimplikar, S.W. 2009. Reassessing the Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s Disease. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 41(6): 1261–1268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard, E., B. Schmand, P. Eikelenboom, R.G. Westendorp, and W.A. Van Gool. 2012. The Alzheimer Myth and Biomarker Research in Dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 31(Suppl. 3): s203–s209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronald, T., and National Institute on Aging Working Group. 1998. Consensus Report of the Working Group on “Molecular and Biochemical Markers of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Neurobiology of Aging 19(2): 109–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savva, G.M., S.B. Wharton, P.G. Ince, G. Forster, F.E. Matthews, and C. Brayne. 2009. Age, Neuropathology, and Dementia. New England Journal of Medicine 360(22): 2302–2309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowdon, D.A. 1997. Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Lessons from the Nun Study. The Gerontologist 37(2): 150–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland, T., H. Hampel, M. Takeda, K.T. Putnam, and R.M. Cohen. 2006. Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease: Are We Ready? Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology 19(3): 172–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tutton, R. 2014. Genomics and the Reimagining of Personalized Medicine. Farnham: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehouse, P.J., and D. George. 2008. The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Diagnosis. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This chapter is based on research performed in the project ‘Responsible early diagnostics for Alzheimer’s Disease’, which was funded by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under its Responsible Innovation programme. I want to thank the researchers involved in the LeARN-project for their cooperation. In addition, thanks to Anna Laura van der Laan, Harro van Lente, and Ellen Moors for their feedback on earlier drafts of the chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Marianne Boenink

Authors
  1. Marianne Boenink
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Twente, The Netherlands, Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands

    Marianne Boenink

  2. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands

    Harro van Lente

  3. Utrecht University, The Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Ellen Moors

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Boenink, M. (2016). Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease: Searching for the Missing Link Between Biology and Clinic. In: Boenink, M., van Lente, H., Moors, E. (eds) Emerging Technologies for Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease. Health, Technology and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54097-3_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54097-3_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54096-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54097-3

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation