Cited by 309Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

GFAP as a Potential Biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Kim, Ka Young, Shin, Ki Young, Chang, Keun-A·2023·Cells

Abstract

Blood biomarkers have been considered tools for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and tau are primarily blood biomarkers, recent studies have identified other reliable candidates that can serve as measurable indicators of pathological conditions. One such candidate is the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocytic cytoskeletal protein that can be detected in blood samples. Increasing evidence suggests that blood GFAP levels can be used to detect early-stage AD. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate GFAP in peripheral blood as a biomarker for AD and provide an overview of the evidence regarding its utility. Our analysis revealed that the GFAP level in the blood was higher in the Aβ-positive group than in the negative groups, and in individuals with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to the healthy controls. Therefore, we believe that the clinical use of blood GFAP measurements has the potential to accelerate the diagnosis and improve the prognosis of AD.

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Crossref · 10.3390/cells12091309

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  • Plasma GFAP and NfL are not anticipated to serve as FTD-specific diagnostic markers.

    “Given that plasma GFAP and NfL are elevated not only in FTD but also in other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer disease [7], stroke [50, 51], and TBI [6], these biomarkers are not anticipated to serve as FTD-specific diagnostic markers.”

    From Comprehensive cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light across FTD spectrum disorders (2025) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Discussion reports elevated blood GFAP in Alzheimer’s disease and in other neurological conditions, supporting the GFAP portion of the Alzheimer’s-disease example attached to this citation. The Introduction names NfL as a candidate Alzheimer’s biomarker, but the cited paper does not establish that plasma NfL is elevated in Alzheimer’s disease. It also does not evaluate whether either marker is specific to FTD. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Kim, K. Y., Shin, K. Y., & Chang, K.-A.
Affiliations
  • Gachon University (KR)
  • Seoul National University (KR)
Corresponding author
  • Shin, Ki Young
  • Chang, Keun-A
Venue
Cells
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-05-04
Volume
12
Issue
9
Pages
1309
ISSN
2073-4409 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4376630140
Cited by
309
References
91
Citations by year
2026: 93 · 2025: 126 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 10
FWCI
14.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cells (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (2022R1A2C1092597, 2020R1I1A1A01070793)
  • Basic Science Research Program through the NRF of Korea (2022R1A2C1092597, 2020R1I1A1A01070793)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
glial fibrillary acidic protein, Alzheimer's disease, blood biomarkers, peripheral blood, amyloid-beta, mild cognitive impairment, early diagnosis, prognosis, astrocytes
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Humans, Biomarkers, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Cognitive Dysfunction

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