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3.2.5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

The aging of the population and the growing epidemic of Alzhei-
mer's disease (AD) highlight the importance of research in the mo-
lecular mechanisms of pathology, as well as in the development
of methods for the early detection of the disease to carry out an
adequate evaluation of risk and to be able to implement early and
effective therapies. Currently, it is widely accepted that changes
at the cellular level associated with AD, including the formation of
neurofibrillary plaques and tangles, begin many years before clini-
cal symptoms are evident or the existence significant cell death in
the brain. Therefore, the development of biomarkers that allow the
identification of patients with incipient AD or asymptomatic people
at risk is of great importance, so that treatments aimed at stopping
neurodegeneration can be initiated before it becomes irreversible.

The most extensively studied biochemical markers are the tau
protein (total levels and different phosphorylated isoforms) and
the amyloid ß peptide in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that are both di-
rectly related to neurofibrillary and amyloid pathology, respectively.
However, the drawbacks derived from obtaining CSF, together with

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