Perspectives in urine AD7c-NTP: A biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

Biomarkers are important for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in routine clinical practice and research. Alzheimer-associated neuronal thread protein (AD7c-NTP) is a member of the “neuronal thread protein” (NTP) family, which is increased in brain-tissue extracts, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and urine in the early stage of AD neurodegeneration. The level of AD7c-NTP is correlated to the degree of dementia. Compared with blood and CSF biomarkers, urine biomarkers reflect physiological or pathophysiological processes earlier, and urine collection and storage are more convenient. In this review, we discussed the characterization, feasibility and development of urine AD7c-NTP as a biomarker for AD.