ALZHEIMER\u2019S\u00a0biomarkers were consistently associated with motor performance measures in a systematic review of 17 studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Biomarker Associations\u00a0with\u00a0Motor Performance\u00a0<\/p>\n
Researchers conducted a systematic review of studies published between 2018 and 2026 to investigate links between neurodegenerative and inflammatory biomarkers and motor outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Data were gathered from 17 eligible studies examining participants across the\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a>\u00a0continuum, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment, motoric cognitive risk syndrome, cognitive complaints, and cognitively unimpaired older adults at risk of\u00a0dementia<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The review\u00a0identified\u00a0several biomarkers that showed consistent relationships with motor decline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lower cerebrospinal fluid amyloid beta 42 (A\u03b242) concentrations were associated with slower gait speed, poorer balance, impaired mobility, and worse performance on mobility assessments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tau-related biomarkers, including phosphorylated tau (p-tau), phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181), phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217), and total tau (t-tau), were linked to mobility impairment, reduced physical function, and poorer dual task performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Strong Signals\u00a0from\u00a0Tau\u00a0and Neurofilament Biomarkers\u00a0<\/p>\n Among the biomarkers examined, neurofilament light chain (NfL)\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0particularly consistent associations with physical decline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Higher\u00a0NfL\u00a0concentrations were linked to poorer performance on the Short Physical Performance Battery, slower gait speed, and lower grip strength across several studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Longitudinal evidence also suggested that elevated p-tau181, p-tau217, and\u00a0NfL\u00a0levels were associated with accelerated motor decline and combined cognitive motor deterioration over time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n These findings were\u00a0observed\u00a0not only in people with cognitive impairment but also in cognitively unimpaired older adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whereas\u00a0inflammatory biomarkers showed less consistent relationships with motor outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Only one study\u00a0identified\u00a0a significant association between serum interleukin 8 and mobility performance, while other inflammatory markers\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0limited evidence of a connection with motor function.\u00a0<\/p>\n Implications\u00a0for Early Detection\u00a0<\/p>\n The authors concluded that neurodegenerative biomarkers were consistently associated with motor dysfunction across the Alzheimer\u2019s disease continuum.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Associations were strongest for A\u03b242, tau-related biomarkers, and\u00a0NfL, particularly\u00a0with regard to\u00a0gait, mobility, balance, and physical performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Importantly, the review highlighted growing evidence that motor changes may occur before measurable cognitive decline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the\u00a0researchers, this observation supports the potential use of motor performance assessments alongside biomarker evaluation as early indicators of neurodegeneration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The findings also underscore the need for further longitudinal research to\u00a0determine\u00a0whether motor impairment can serve as a reliable early clinical marker for Alzheimer\u2019s disease progression.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Reference\u00a0<\/p>\n Serna\u00a0MF\u00a0et al.\u00a0Motor performance and its association with Alzheimer\u2019s-related biomarkers: a systematic review.\u00a0Neurol\u00a0Sci.\u00a02026;DOI:10.1007\/s10072-026-09253-4\u00a0<\/p>\n Featured\u00a0image:\u00a0LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS\u00a0on\u00a0Adobe Stock\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALZHEIMER\u2019S\u00a0biomarkers were consistently associated with motor performance measures in a systematic review of 17 studies.\u00a0 Biomarker Associations\u00a0with\u00a0Motor Performance\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-569819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}